The New Slytherin Girl
by AnnyBee
Summary: This is a story about a girl named Katerina Volkov. She's a student at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Her father is a powerful and infamous wizard. Her story is parallel to that of Harry.This is her life
1. The Hogwarts Express

"Platform Nine and Three-Quarters: Hogwarts Express"

_Guess I'm here_ I thought to myself seeing the sign. Everyone seemed really excited to be here, pushing each other playfully and laughing quite loudly. I stood with my luggage, watching, as all the young witches and wizards started boarding the train. Most had come with their parents, making faces as they received kisses and hugs that seemed to embarrass them. I wouldn't have minded that at all. I sighed and began boarding myself.

After passing a few compartments full of students I finally found an empty one and made myself at home. It's not as if I wasn't social or anything I just didn't feel like talking much today. I mean honestly my parents could've at least dropped me off. _Well there's no point in worrying about that now_ I thought and rested myself back on the seat. After a few minutes and a lot of noise from the other students the train blew its whistle and started moving. Slowly but surely the Hogwarts Express began picking up speed and I closed my eyes, thinking of all the things this school year would bring.

"Nice going, now we don't have a place to sit!" a voice sounded from the corridor

"Don't even! You wanted to see the tarantula just as much as I did!" another said. This voice seemed a little louder than the last one. It was then that I heard the footsteps just outside the compartment door.

"Oh look here's one" One of them said. I opened my eyes and saw two identical looking boys with flaming hair walking into the compartment. At least I thought they were identical, I could only see their backs. They started to pile all their stuff in on the seat in front of me. Finally they turned around, jumping a little as they saw me there. They must've not seen me here until now._ Well, I was right, they are identical_ I thought.

"Hi?" I said after what seemed like an entire minute of them staring at me.

"Oh, hello there, we didn't know anyone was here." Said one

"Sorry, I'm Fred by the way, Fred Weasley. This is my brother George. Is it alright if we stay here?" Fred asked

I answered them with a shrug and closed my eyes again. I hope they didn't think I was rude but I felt tired today, both physically and mentally. Either way they didn't seem to hesitate to take the seat and start talking. Most of it was about some tarantula some boy named Lee had brought, they moved on from one topic to another until I once again heard footsteps. A girl with big hair stood next to a round faced boy as they looked around the compartment for something.

"Have any of you seen a toad? Neville here's lost one" the girl said with a strict sounding tone. She seemed sort of pushy, maybe even angry, but at the same time not…

"No I'm sorry I haven't seen any. But I'll let you know if I do" I told them with a small smile. They then looked over at the twins who both shook their heads to say they hadn't either. The girl sighed and they both walked away.

"She talks!" said one of the twins as the other laughed; they looked so similar I didn't know which was which. I laughed a little at his comment and nodded my head. "So, mystery girl, got a name?" he asked. They didn't seem angry with my behavior so I laughed again

"Yeah, sorry, I'm Katerina. It's nice to meet you" I said raising my hand to shake theirs. They both took their turn shaking it and said "Nice to meet you" at the same time.

"So are you a first year?" asked one of the twins

"Yes, I am. Are you two?" I asked

"Nope. George here and I are third years." said Fred, I assumed.

"Which house are you hoping to get into? We're in Gryffindor by the way" said George

"I don't really mind any. They all seem nice to me" I said. In all honesty I meant it but I could tell from their faces that they didn't think the same. Most people seemed to disagree with me about that but I didn't care. Hogwarts was a nice enough place that being sorted into a certain house didn't seem like that big a deal. As they were in Gryffindor I could guess which house they didn't like.

"So you'd be okay being put in _Slytherin_?" Fred asked as if horrified by the thought of it.

"Sure why not?" I said with a smile. Everyone had their own opinion on which house was best but to me they were all the same.

"Well she's peculiar isn't she George?" whispered Fred to his brother

"Yes, quite so. But she seems nice" George whispered back. I suppose they thought I couldn't hear them, but this was no surprise to me. I was always told I was strange. My parents said I should try to be more normal but it was easier said than done.

"Anything from the trolley, dearies?" a woman standing outside our door asked

"None for us thanks" said Fred and George at the same time. They sounded a little sad about it. Looking at their clothes a little more closely I realized why… I remembered, they'd said their last name was Weasley, my father had told me about them. He'd said they were purebloods who associated with Muggles and were poor, especially compared to us.

"I'll have some chocolate frogs and licorice wands please. Would you two like anything? I'm buying" I said and smiled at them. They looked surprised by my question as if they didn't know whether to accept or not. After some time they still didn't answer so I just ordered something for them as well, paid the woman, and handed them their share.

"We can't accept this" said George not meeting my eyes, although I could tell he wanted the sweets. I didn't mind, I had the money so why not share?

"Well it's a little late for that now isn't it" I said as they both looked up at me surprised. Apparently I could surprise them easily. "I've already paid for these sweets, and I certainly can't eat them all myself so why don't you two do me a favor and help me finish them"

After a little while the boys looked at each other, shrugged, and dug into the sweets. I was glad. I never understood why people put so much importance on money. But then again, since my family had so much, I wasn't one to talk. Fred, George and I all talked about Hogwarts and what was to come. They were still surprised that I was so indifferent on which house I would be in but that was all. One thing I did notice was that they were two very funny lads. Some hours passed and it came time to go change into our robes.

I came back to the compartment to see Fred and George already sitting in their seat eating the rest of the sweets. When they saw me George smiled while Fred spit up a little trying to say something with his mouth full of food. I laughed and they did the same. Once the voice overhead told us it was time to go we headed for the doors. The boys told me they'd save me a seat at the Gryffindor table whether I was sorted into that house or not. I appreciated that more than they realized and thanked them. I said my goodbyes, for now anyway, and headed to the really big man calling for first years.


	2. The Sorting

Once all of the first years were gathered we were then taken to Hogwarts and led to a small chamber where we were told to wait. I stood near the back of the group as we all waited to be called in to the Sorting Ceremony. In the front I saw a few people who stood out from the rest. There was the pushy sounding girl among them, as well as the round faced boy who had apparently found his toad. The other three were all boys, one of which had attracted the attention of a lot of other students as well. It was rumored that he was _the_ Harry Potter, the boy who lived. Standing next to him was a scared looking boy with a little dirt on his nose who looked like the twins I'd met earlier. He didn't seem as care free as his brothers though, if they were brothers. And finally, was the blond boy. I was unsure if I should be happy to see him or not. My father had told me I should greet him warmly and be kind even though I always was with him. Still, Draco did have trouble with the way he held himself around people and he had changed a lot from when we were kids.

Some of the students screamed as they saw ghosts talking to them about being first years. Not long after that Professor McGonagall came back and guided us through and into the Great Hall. It was beautiful of course; long tables for the students of each house to sit at and one for the staff at the front. Professor McGonagall stood us in front of everyone for a while and I saw Fred and George sitting in a table on the far left. _That must be the Gryffindor table_ I thought. When they caught my glance they both smiled and crossed their fingers in an exaggerated manner as If to show me they were hoping I was sorted into their group. Part of me wanted to do the same but instead I just smiled and gave them a small wave.

I turned to see that there was an old looking hat perched on a stool and just as I started to wonder if that was part of our "test" that a few students had been talking about it started talking. Well singing actually. It sang about all 4 houses and of what each was looking for. They all seemed nice to me but I could see some of the other first years making faces at the sound of certain ones. Then, the sorting started.

"Abbott, Hannah" said professor McGonagall to my regret. _I didn't know they were saying last names too!_ I sighed at the thought of what people would say when they heard mine...

"HUFFLEPUFF!" yelled the hat as it made its decision. The table on the right welcomed her and she sat down as the next name was called.

"Bones, Susan" announced the professor and another girl took place under the hat. This went on for a little while as one by one each of the first years was sorted into their new house. I glanced at Fred and George a few times to see them either talking to the new members of their house or smiling and waving at me or at that boy who must have been their brother after all. I waved back and smiled weakly hoping that they wouldn't judge me based on who my parents were. Many kids had gone, even Harry Potter who had been sorted into the Gryffindor house as well, until finally it was my turn.

"Volkov, Katerina" announced the professor and with a sigh I reluctantly made my way towards the hat. Immediately I heard the whispers of the other students as they realized who I was and I didn't dare look at the twins for fear of what I might see written on their faces. My family wasn't exactly ordinary so I had assumed this would happen when I entered Hogwarts. We were rich, not just rich, but richer than probably anyone else here, including the Malfoy family. We were also purebloods which was rare in itself. My father was also known to be a very powerful wizard who was not above hexing people to get what he wanted. It wasn't my fault that I was in this family but then again if someone was to judge me for my parents rather than myself then they weren't very good friends to begin with. I sighed one last time before the hat was placed on my head

"Ah another tricky one" the hat muttered in a hushed voice. "Well you're smart enough for a Ravenclaw but with the nerve of a Gryffindor. Loyal like a Hufflepuff and cunning like a Slytherin... Yes very tricky." It felt as if no one else could hear the hat for some reason so I just sat there and waited as it made its decision. "Any preference?" It asked to my surprise but I simply shook my head. I wanted to be where I belonged not where I thought I belonged. It wasn't my decision to make... "Very well," whispered the hat. "SLYTHERIN!" It yelled and I made my way to the table I had seen Draco walk to when he was sorted; to my new home for the next few years.


	3. A New Family

The Slytherin house looked pretty happy to have me there which surprised me a little. I sat next to Draco and smiled at him like I always did. He blushed, hardly visible but still, and said hello in a serious tone. From what I'd heard him saying to the other students my guess was he wanted to maintain a tough image among them. That would explain the blush as I often called him pet names and teased him which would certainly spoil any tough guy reputation he would've built thus far. So I simply said "Hi Draco" and turned over to the boy who had just been accepted into Gryffindor, Ron Weasley.

A few Slytherin students scoffed at him but I was glad as he had seemed nervous about the sorting but now looked relieved. He went and sat next to Harry Potter, by his brothers, who in the process of turning to him saw me. On impulse, I held my breath and hoped they didn't choose to ignore me as I thought they would. My family wasn't very friendly with people they didn't deem worthy of their attention, in other words, those who weren't rich or of high stature in our society. I knew that they knew who my family was because I'd heard their table whispering about it. I was about to turn away when I saw them smile. I was so shocked that I laughed a little. They waved happily and turned to their brother to congratulate him on his placement on Gryffindor.

"Why are you bothering with those weasels?" Draco asked almost disgusted. I gave him a look and was about to reply when Dumbledore spoke. He gave a rather strange greeting to all of us and thanked us. After that we began to eat.

On the table were many delicious dishes and sides. I never really ate much but I especially wasn't hungry at the moment. It probably had to do with all the sweets I ate on the train with Fred and George. Looking around my table I noticed almost all the students in Slytherin were either purebloods or of somewhat high status in the wizard society, not all but most. _Maybe that's why I was put here_ I thought to myself as I started nibbling on some chips that were near me.

"They call this food?" Draco sneered at the plate in front of him. I knew he liked to be treated a certain way but this was school not a luxury resort. He wasn't the only one in the table acting that way either, many of the other first years weren't as accepting of their food and just made faces as the poked around their plates.

"It's good so just eat it okay" I told him and handed Draco some chicken. He looked like he was about to argue so I grabbed a piece and put it in his mouth before he could say anything. This surprised the other first years and even some of the older students around us but this was how I always treated him, and he knew that. So I simply smiled and went back to my chips as he took the chicken and started eating. After that everyone else seemed to be a little more accepting of their food and began eating too. Not excited about it but at least they were eating. I was past the chips and was about to grab some chicken too when a ghost made his way in between me and Draco.

"Ah, first years! Now you all better keep the Slytherin name proud I don't want to see you losing to those Gryffindors over there. Our house must remain victorious" he said to us as most looked at him terrified, especially Draco. He was a pale thing, a ghost after all, with black eyes and had blood covering his robe; probably the reason why everyone looked so scared. _But he's a ghost, what harm can he do?_ I thought so I decided to introduce myself. "Hi, um, I'm Katerina. And you are?"

"They call me The Bloody Baron" he said and I saw a few of the students' eyes go wide.

"Well it's nice to meet you" I said and continued to eat my chicken. He didn't seem so bad although Draco still seemed pretty disturbed by his presence. In front of me I saw another ghost; this one looked quite friendly and must have been in the Gryffindor house like the Bloody Baron was in ours. As they joked George looked over and caught my eye. He still seemed happy and not bothered by me which made me happy too. After I waved I heard a grunt next to me and turned to see that our ghost friend had left. Meaning the boy next to me must have been the one to have made that noise.

"Don't start" I warned him in a hushed voice and he merely looked at the Weasleys, looked at me, and then down at his food which had now turned into desserts. Some time passed and when everyone was finished Dumbledore made one last speech after which we were all told to sing the Hogwarts school song. Then it was time for bed. I felt tired but not too much and it seemed that a good night's rest would fix all that. We were led by our prefect downstairs through many passages until we finally arrived into a big common room. It wasn't the most luxurious thing I'd ever seen but it was very nice. The girls' and boys' rooms were on opposite sides, of course, so I said goodnight to Draco and found my room; I shared with 3 other first year girls. We talked for a little bit and I found their names were Millicent, Pansy, and Daphne. They were nice to me but whether that was actually because of me or because of my family I didn't know. After a little while we said goodnight to each other and I got into bed and fell asleep rather quickly.


	4. Potions

I soon learned what a confusing place Hogwarts could be. With staircases that moved, walls that pretended to be doors, and other strange things it was a wonder I hadn't gotten trapped somewhere. Part of me was still expecting that to happen though. But other than the occasional wrong turn I really liked this school. Everyone in my house was being very nice to me, or at least pretending to be, and with all the focus being on Harry Potter I had hardly heard anyone mutter my family name. I did feel bad for him though, I knew what it was like to be looked at like that, not as a person but more as an animal at a zoo. Something to look at, maybe even admire, but without anyone bothering to care how you may be feeling. It was demeaning.

"Would you hurry up? If you stay there too long the staircase will move and you'll get lost again!" Draco said as we made our way to Potions. He wasn't angry with me he just had a way of speaking that made people think he was. Because of this he eventually embraced the character others made him out to be, "the bad boy". But to me he'd always be as cute and cuddly as a puffskein.

"Sorry" I said and rushed to take his side. I had heard from other students that Professor Snape was strict but favored his house so we'd be okay. So far I had done fairly well in my classes. Everyone had a different pace they went by but I was just a little above average. Draco had said that I was just cheating but we both knew that wasn't true. I was nothing if not honest, for the most part anyway.

We walked in to find that Professor Snape was a rather quiet person, yet the kind whose presence demanded attention. The class stayed rather quiet as he prepared to begin. Looking around the room I saw that some Gryffindor students had this class with us. I saw the girl from the train whose name, I heard, was Hermione Granger. I had been right to thing that she wasn't as bad as she let on to be. She reminded me a bit of Draco the way the things she said sometimes came off rougher than she would've probably liked them to. She caught me looking at her so I smiled and waved politely at her. She was a bit surprised at first but did the same.

"Well, well, look who it is" Draco mumble to the boys sitting on the other side of him. I turned to the direction he was looking at and saw Harry Potter walking through the door, with Ron Weasley not far behind. They went to sit down next to Hermione and I turned back just as Professor Snape began class. He started off with roll call but stopped when he got to Harry's name. He didn't seem to like Harry very much and Draco and his friends sniggered when he mockingly called him a "_celebrity._" I kicked Draco under the table and gave him a look. He returned my look but stopped laughing.

Professor Snape went on to explain that while we weren't using the kind of magic that required a wand, Potions was still a very good skill to have. This caught my interest; I had always been specially interested in potions. Magic was a wonderful skill that I had always admired and knowing all the parts, whether it required a wand or not, was just as amazing. However, he then went on to ask Harry questions that seemed very difficult to me. I knew some but not all of them. Hermione however was trying very hard to get Professor Snape's attention as she did know the answers. He did not seem pleased with his Gryffindor students and went so far as to take points away from their house.

We began working on simple potions in pairs and as we did, he began to walk around the room analyzing everyone's work. Our professor seemed to think this was a good opportunity to criticize almost all of his students. When it came time for him to come and look at our work he was actually rather nice to Draco and me. Some students weren't so lucky, especially a certain one of the Gryffindor students. It was the round faced boy with the toad, Neville, who had somehow managed to brew up a potion which spilled over and began to burn holes through everyone's shoes. He had everyone standing on their stools trying to avoid this potion within seconds. Professor Snape was not pleased. He began to scold not only him but his partner and Harry and Ron who had been working next to them. As the class ended the Gryffindor students seemed very saddened by their loss of points while most of the Slytherin students looked more than pleased with our new professor.


	5. The Courtyard Chat

"Did you see the look on Potter's face? Snape sure knocked him down a few notches didn't he" Draco said as we were leaving class. Everyone laughed, everyone but me that is. I merely sighed, poked his cheek, and walked away. I heard him call after me once but I lost his voice after I started climbing up the stairs. He was a little rough around the edges but since we got to the school I felt as if he was pushing this behavior a little more. I had Friday afternoons off so I decided to take the time to explore the school. I explored the west wing, from the Great Hall to the study room. After a little time in the study I decided I needed some fresh air and began walking towards the courtyard. Since it was the beginning of September it wasn't very cold out but it still felt good to have the sun in my face. I sat on the nice green grass, leaned back against my hands, and closed my eyes. I stayed that way for a little while until I heard two familiar voices.

"Well if it isn't mystery girl!" I opened my eyes to see Fred and George walking towards me. "So, how've you been, love?"

"Fine" I said and smiled. "Just thought I'd get a little fresh air is all" In the sun their hair looked brighter and redder than usual. I couldn't help but think of how cute it looked out here.

"So, um, how's Slytherin treating you?" the other asked. It was really bothering me that I couldn't tell them apart but then again I had just met them and they were identical…

"It's been good. They're all really nice, to me anyway. But I do feel that they can go a little overboard with their insults" I said and looked at the ground thinking about what I'd heard some people say about the Weasleys. They were such nice people and just because they didn't have much money didn't mean that they deserved that kind of treatment. Nobody did really.

"You mean about us" one said and it made me look up. I nodded slowly but they didn't look upset. In fact they were smiling.

"We know exactly what they say but we simply don't care. Georgie and I are used to it" said Fred with a big grin and sat to my right

"Yeah, Kitty, relax. We're fine with it" George said sitting to my left

"Kitty?" I asked and they laughed as I digressed

"Yeah, Kitty" Fred said "Like Katerina-"

"-or Kat" George added

"Kitty" they both said and smiled as I laughed. I laughed partly because it was funny that they practically shared a brain but mostly because there was only one other person that had ever called me that. When we were kids he was a lot cuter and sweeter in that way and I was really starting to become annoyed by his behavior lately. Draco Malfoy really had changed.

"Is it alright that we call you that?" asked George a little bit concerned, probably because I hadn't said anything after they did.

"Yeah, I was just remembering another friend who used to call me that when we were younger" I said smiling at the memory.

"By the way," Fred said, "how come you hadn't told us your last name?" I sighed at his question and looked in front of me as I saw students passing through the courtyard from one side to the other.

"I don't know. I guess it's because I didn't want you guys treating me differently. Every time someone finds out my last name or who my father is they always decide they hate me without getting to know me. If not then they start to think of how they can use me to get themselves in a position of more power or something. It's happened a lot more than I would've liked it to" I said not looking at them. But I could see them, from the corner of my eye, looking at each other above my head.

"Why would we care about any of that? We like you for you silly" George said next to me with a little smile. Not a big one like he'd had just a little earlier but a small, simple one, which looked so sincere that it made me smile like that too.

"Besides, now that we know you're filthy rich we don't have to feel bad about eating all your candy!" Fred said and nudged me a little too hard making me knock into George. I couldn't help but burst out in laughter. A couple of the other students threw funny looks at us as they passed. It was rare enough for Gryffindor and Slytherin students to even speak to each other so it was even more so for them to laugh as loudly as we were doing. Once we were done I leaned against George's shoulder trying to catch my breath while Fred was still giggling a little. I looked up to see George had started to blush, probably from laughing too much.

"You okay there, Georgie?" asked Fred with a knowing smile as we both looked to George who just nodded and looked the opposite direction. He was smiling a little but then stopped as he saw something. I looked over to see what it was that made him stop and saw Draco and the two boys who always hung around him staring at us. I waved at him but he was too focused on George to see. When he did look over at me he gave me a glare and walked away. This behavior of his was _really_ bothering me.


	6. Jealousy

After that little look he gave me I wanted to see what was wrong with Draco. I had said goodbye to Fred and George and they told me we should meet after breakfast the next day so we could talk some more. I walked through the corridors looking for Draco. I didn't know what his problem was; did he really hate the Weasleys that much? And why had he glared at me like that?

After walking around most of the west wing again I decided to check his dormitory. He always did like to mope in his room. And if he wasn't there, well I didn't have anything else to do and I would've had to go back to the dormitories anyway. Walking into the Slytherin common room I didn't see Draco but did see two familiar faces. I greeted Pansy and Daphne who were sitting on one of the couches there. They both looked up at me and sent their own variation of hello my way.

"Hey," I said in return. "Have either of you seen Draco Malfoy? I've been looking for him but I can't find him"

"I'm not sure but I think he's in his room" said Daphne as Pansy just made a face. _Maybe she doesn't like Draco_ I thought

"Alright, thanks." I said and turned for the boys' dormitories. Draco had told me where his room was just in case I ever needed him for something. But before I got to the stairs Pansy stood in front of me blocking my way.

"Why do you need to see Draco?" Pansy asked. She seemed sort of bothered by the fact I was going to his room. And, for some reason, I didn't want to tell her the reason why. It wasn't anything bad but I just wasn't sure if I could truly trust her yet, even with something as meaningless as this.

"It's kind of private" I said as I once again tried to make my way around her. She looked like she wanted to protest some more but she didn't. My guess was that she couldn't come up with a good enough excuse. Did she dislike Draco that much? Or did she dislike me? Either way Pansy stepped aside and watched as I climbed up the staircase. As I did, Pansy reluctantly walked back towards Daphne.

The closer I got to Draco's dormitory, the more looks I seemed to get. Slytherin boys from all years gave me indifferent looks, shocked faces, or other kind of glares which I couldn't seem to place; they weren't angry just strange. Passing by all of them I still didn't see Draco so I made my way all the way towards his room. I reached Draco's room, one which he shared with a few other Slytherin first years, but didn't hear the usual noise you would expect from a room filled with boys. Nobody seemed to be around, it was unusually quiet. I knocked anyway just in case.

"I thought I told you guys to get out!" Draco yelled from inside. Well at least I knew where he was now. "I wanted to be left… alone." I heard him yell as he came to open the door but softened at the last word when he saw it was me. He looked at me with a mixed expression of surprise and what looked like a trace of sadness. This expression quickly changed however when I waved at him, turning into that same glare he had given me earlier.

"Hi…" I said as he continued to stare. _What has gotten into this boy? _I thought

"Shouldn't you be talking to your new boyfriends?" he said in a harsh voice. I'm sure he meant it to sound scary but I couldn't help but smile. This didn't help his mood. "Just go back to those muggle-"

"Don't," I warned him. He knew I hate it when he used those kinds of insults. Being nice to muggles shouldn't be something to be ashamed of. He looked down but didn't say anything else. I knew Draco well enough to know that this was his form of an apology; he had too much pride to actually say the words aloud. This was more than most people got sometimes so I walked in closing the door behind me and smiled again. "Now," I said linking his arm with mine and walking towards the middle of the room, "are you going to tell me what's bothering you?"

"Why don't you ask your new buddies; those filthy…" he paused noting the look I was giving him. "Gryffindors" he said unlinking his arm from mine.

"What do you have against them? Just because they're Gryffindors? If I had been sorted into Gryffindor would you be treating me like this as well?"

"Not _just_ because they're Gryffindors" he said, still staying quieter than usual. "And don't compare yourself to them, they're below you. Besides, you were sorted in Slytherin, not pathetic Gryffindor." I waited for him to continue but that's all he was going to say. Although I wish I could, I knew I wouldn't be able to change Draco's mind so I focused less on his attitude and more on him. Whatever was going on in his head was obviously bothering him and what kind of friend would I be if I didn't try to help.

"So are you going to tell me what's going on? Or are you going to keep up this tough guy routine and not?" He looked straight at me but didn't say anything. He might have grown but he acted just like he did when we were kids. And if he was going to act that way, so was I.


	7. Love and Trust

"Look, Deedee" I said and he made a face at one of the many pet names I had given him over the years. "You may not want to tell me what's going on but just know that I'm always here if you need me, okay? I love you" I said with a smile as his cheeks began to blush a deep red. I never understood why those three words always made him do that but I found it funny. He really was too adorable to be scared of. He was about to say something when I stopped him. I put my hands on his face, one on each cheek, and squeezed them.

"Now say it back." His eyes went wide at my words but he made no attempt to get out of my grasp. It also made his cheeks get redder than they already were. "Go on, say it" he didn't say anything just merely shook his head under my fingers. I sighed as if disappointed, rolled my eyes, and then looked at him again, his eyes were still wide. I didn't know why but I always got a lot of amusement watching him like this; it reminded me of the Draco I used to know, the little boy who wasn't worried about what others thought. "Say. It."

"No" he said, a bit muffled by me pressing on his cheeks, but I could've sworn I heard a slight laugh as he spoke. This really was like old times. I never understood why he always protested though, seeing as I always got him to say it.

I sighed an exaggerated sigh and squeezed his cheeks together once again. And I did this for every word I said "Say. It. Draco. Say 'I love you.' Say. It. Say. It. Say. You. Love. Me. Say it. Say it. Say it. Say-"

"Alright! I'll say it!" he said taking my hands away from his face so I couldn't press on it again. I laughed and he did too as we both knew I had won. He always ended up doing what I wanted in the end. He always did when it came to me. "Fine, you want me to say it? I'll say it. Katerina, I-"

That was all he said before we were interrupted by a knock on his door. We turned to see Draco's roommates alongside Pansy walking into the room. I watched as their faces turned from casual expressions to ones of shock. I followed their eyes to see that Draco had been holding my hands. I guess he must've forgotten to let go after he took them off his face. He must not have noticed either as followed their stares too and quickly let go of my hands.

"I thought I told you guys to leave me alone!" Draco yelled at them, turning back into his grumpy self. _Great_, I thought, _and just as I was making some progress._

"Well, um technically you aren't alone so…" one of the boys said pointing my direction

"Get out!" he screamed and they all left, Pansy staring at us until the door was completely shut. Normally I would've scolded him for being so mean to them but he was just embarrassed. It was probably not often that he was caught holding hands with a girl in his room, and blushing on top of that. He didn't like showing that side of himself to other people.

"You know, you're never going to make friends like that" I said poking his cheek so he would turn around to look at me. He smiled a little but said nothing else. "Well I should probably go, it's getting late" I said and turned to leave when his hand stopped me.

"Wait… Umm…" he muttered, trying to find the right words to say, but was lost. He must have still been embarrassed as he looked into my eyes. In these times I honestly couldn't find what people saw that scared them about Draco. He was so cute and sweet and while he could be a jerk from time to time there was just something about him that made me want to hug him. So I did.

"I know" I said letting go of him and kissed him on the cheek. His eyes widened a little but not much. We said our goodnights to each other and I walked out of the room. Waiting outside were Draco's roommates but no Pansy. I said goodnight to them as well, minus the kiss of course, and headed for my own room.

When I got there Daphne, Millicent, and Pansy were all already there. They all looked at me but didn't say anything, Pansy's look being more of a glare. I greeted all of them and sat down on my bed and started getting ready to sleep. I heard whispers coming from their side of the room but made no attempt to stop them. All my life people had been saying things behind my back; this was nothing new for me. Besides, I hadn't done anything wrong so why worry about it.

"So I heard you found Draco" Daphne said in a quiet voice so only I would hear. Apparently it had been Millicent and Pansy whispering on Pansy's bed which was the farthest from mine; Daphne's was right next to mine. "You alright?" she asked and I smiled and nodded in response. She did the same and went to bed. I looked up to say goodnight to all of them but Daphne was the only one who replied. At least now I knew who among them wasn't just pretending to be my friend...


	8. Mail Time

The following days all seemed a little calmer after that. Classes were pretty average; I often got a little ahead of the others but not by too much. I didn't see much of the Gryffindors except during Potions. I would see some of them from time to time in the corridors or when I had free time in the courtyard.

I did see a lot of Fred and George though, and I was getting better at telling them apart from one another. Fred was usually the one to speak first and was in love with pranking people, even if they were sometimes slightly cruel acts. George on the other hand spoke a little less and seemed a bit shy at times. Either way it was still hard to tell sometimes since they were so alike. I'd usually spend a little time with them after a meal or on my free time. They were both two very fun and kind boys and I was beginning to become close friends them.

"Why do you keep talking to those weasels?" Draco said when I waved to them from my seat at the Slytherin table. He hadn't glared at me anymore but it was obvious he still didn't like them. I didn't know what it was about them that made Draco so angry and he didn't bother telling me.

"Because, I like them. And it's Weasley, not weasel," I said and continued eating my breakfast. Draco grunted in response but said nothing else. Behind him I saw Pansy make a face. Ever since that night I went to Draco's room she'd been acting different towards me. She and Millicent had been whispering about me ever since. It wasn't in an obvious way but I'd dealt with that kind of behavior enough in my life to recognize it easily.

Movement caught my eye and I turn to see Fred and George waving and pointing to the door. They were asking if I wanted to go with them after I was done eating. I shook my head and pointed at Draco to tell them I was spending time with him today. They gave me understanding looks and went back to eating and laughing with their friends. I had been spending a lot of time with them lately and, while I did see Draco a lot, I felt like we should spent more time together.

A little after that, the mail came. Owls flew into the Great Hall bringing the students' letters and parcels with them. Draco's Hawk Owl dropped off a parcel from home. It was full of delicious looking sweets. Being who he is he began gloating about them of course; that was his nature. But, being who I am, his best friend and therefore special, he gave me some.

I watched as the owls came and went giving the students some form of mail. A lot received letters which, to me, seemed like a better gesture than any gift. Just as the last of the mail came in I saw Whiskers, my owl, fly in. He was a brown Tawny Owl, not very big but not small either, and personally I found him very cute. And I know the name is strange for an owl, to say the least, but I liked it so I kept it.

Whiskers came in dropping off a small square parcel, a little bigger than the size of my hand, as I threw a small piece of my breakfast up to him. He caught it in his mouth and made his way out of the Great Hall as I began to open it. Inside was a pocketbook edition of _Moste Potente Potions, _as well as a potion vial. The book was a potion book, full of complicated potions, and had a spell written on the side which could turn it into its actual size if desired, simple but wonderful. The vial, on the other hand, looked rather expensive. It was made of rose gold, linked to a necklace so I could wear it, with a black stopper that looked shiny. I heard a lot of my fellow Slytherins make awed sounds at the items while I looked at them a little confused. It wasn't as if I didn't like them, in fact I loved them, but that was the problem. My parents had no problem buying me expensive things but they often got my tastes wrong.

"It has a letter" Draco told me knowing I'd appreciate that more than the gifts themselves. I set the items gently down between us and took the letter from him. I smiled as I began to understand. These presents weren't from my parents, they were from my aunt Sacha. Aunt Sacha was my dad's sister, also a powerful and wealthy pureblood witch, who was one of my favorite people in the world. She lived in Russia so I hardly ever saw her but we kept in touch through mail. I already had a huge smile on my face as I opened the letter and began reading it

_My dear Katerina,_

_How have you been dear? Well I hope. Congratulations on being accepted into Slytherin, it is an extraordinary house. Hogwarts is a very good school and I know you'll be a great student. As I know how you love potions, here are a few things that I expect you'll enjoy. Hope you like them and try to challenge yourself there, that's what Hogwarts is for._

_With love, your favorite aunt, Sacha._  
_p.s. I'm sure Draco is a Slytherin as well so say hi to him for me. And give him a kiss for me too._


	9. Flying Lessons

Draco looked over my shoulder, trying to read the letter too. I handed it to him and reached over to grab my gifts. As he read it I fastened the potion vial necklace to my neck. It was a bit thick but also somewhat small, only about the size of my thumb, so I was able to easily put it under my uniform. I hugged my new book to my chest as Draco finished reading the letter. I mouthed "Hi" when he turned to me. I smiled and blew a kiss to him and I saw him blush a little. I saw a few of the people around us start to whisper but Draco was either ignoring them or didn't notice. Or maybe it was my imagination? _Am I just being paranoid?_ I began to think looking down at my table

"Hey" Draco said calling my attention. "Do you want to go outside?" he said looking over at the Gryffindor table. Fred and George had left which is probably why he asked me. I nodded and we both got up and left our table. Pansy gave me a nasty look as I left with Draco and I was sure that I hadn't just imagined it. On our way out we passed by the Gryffindor table. I waved at Hermione who waved back. I had started to talk to her more; we were in the same year and had Potions together after all. We weren't as close as I was with Fred and George but I talked to her more than any other Gryffindor girl. I had learned she was very smart and loved to read, a lot. She did remind me a lot of Draco; she was the kind of person who didn't make the best first impression but once you saw who they really were you pretty much loved them.

Draco was a little ways behind me as we walked but was taking a little long for some reason. He had decided to stop by the Gryffindor table where Neville had gotten a parcel, it was a Remembrall. Draco saw it and snatched it out of his hand. _Of course he did_ I thought and with a sigh I started walking towards him. By the time I got there Harry and Ron were standing in front of him along with Professor McGonagall. He looked away from them and turned to see me giving him a look so he set the Remembrall down and walked out, making an excuse as he did. I gave the Gryffindors an apologetic look and walked after him as did two other Slytherin boys; Draco had told me that their names were Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle.

When we got to the corridor Draco was leaning against the door waiting for us. Well actually I think it was more for me since he began to frown when he saw that the two boys had followed him too. Even though he obviously wasn't thrilled that they had decided to join us he didn't tell them to leave. We walked around for a little while, talking, but it felt like Draco and I were the only ones. Goyle and Crabbe were still with us but they never really said much. Sometimes it looked like they were more of Draco's bodyguards rather than friends.

Just before three-thirty we headed for our first flight lesson, well, the first one in school. My father had said since I was young that a powerful wizard was one who knew all bases of magic, not just spells, so he taught me how to fly. The sad thing is that those few hours of lessons were probably the longest amount of time either of my parents ever spent with me in one day. We got there to see that only Slytherins had arrived thus far. All of us stood in a group and chatted, waiting for class to start. For the most part I only talked to Draco and Daphne since, even though everyone else treated me nicely, I wasn't close to any one of them. A little time passed and the Gryffindors arrived; thus the lesson began.

Everyone stood next to one of the brooms that had been on the ground and had to call it to come up. Madam Hooch, our instructor, also showed us how to properly hold them and Draco was not happy when she explained he'd been doing it wrong for years. She also adjusted my hand a bit but didn't say much. As the lesson went on Neville, the poor thing, managed to hurt himself by falling from several feet off of his broom, Madam Hooch had to take him to the hospital wing. And as soon as they were too far to hear Draco began to laugh. I elbowed him but it was too late, all Slytherins had joined in.

"Shut up, Malfoy" yelled a Gryffindor girl only to be made fun of by Pansy. _Why is everyone here so mean? _ I couldn't help but wonder if this was just part of being a Slytherin. I was about to say something to her when Draco interrupted me. He had found something on the ground; Neville's Remembrall. Harry stood up to Draco demanding he'd hand it over but of course Draco wouldn't listen.

"Come and get it, Potter!" he said as he flew by a tree teasing Harry, and he was falling for it. Harry grabbed his broom and started towards Draco. It was rather impressive too seeing as he hadn't had any prior training for this; he chased Draco around with ease. A few of the Gryffindors started clapping for Harry as the Slytherins just watched, expecting Draco to pull something off that would shame Harry. Draco had gotten a sort of leader reputation from them and now had to live up to their expectations. I could tell he was nervous and they were talking about something I couldn't quite understand. But I didn't have to hear what they were saying, I knew that look…

"Draco Malfoy you get down here right now!" I yelled at him just before he threw Neville's Remembrall which Harry thankfully caught. Unfortunately for him, that was about the same time that Professor McGonagall decided to join us

"HARRY POTTER!" she yelled as she came closer to our class. The next several words out of her mouth were just short of being sentences and were almost incoherent. A lot of the Gryffindors tried to reason with her but she ignored them and took Harry away with her. Draco, Crabbe and Goyle all seemed very pleased with themselves. After Harry was taken away Madam Hooch came back and, having seen him with Professor McGonagall, she went on with our lesson. All through the lesson, Slytherins made snide comments about Harry, about him not being as great as he thought he was, and how we were better off without him. And all this just from Draco's laugh…


	10. Secrets

"Katerina talk to me!" Draco said for the hundredth time as I walked away from him and towards the Great Hall. It was almost time for dinner and I hadn't talked to him since our flying lessons. After everyone had left he had apologized to me, his version of an apology at least, and tried to get me to talk to him. But I didn't want to talk, not right now. "Would you at least look at me? Are you seriously going to pretend not to hear me?" he said trying to make me meet his eyes. Knowing he wouldn't quit, I stopped abruptly, making him trip on his feet a little.

"What?" I said in a serious voice only looking ahead. We had reached an empty part of the school that looked like a good place to argue. Just because I was angry at him didn't mean I wanted to embarrass him in front of the other students. That and if there were to have been more people he probably would've gone back to acting like the jerk he pretended to be. If he was pretending…

"Would you at least look at me?" he said but flinched slightly when I did. I was really irritated with him and while that was rare, when I was, it was serious. I waited for him to start talking but he didn't, instead he started pacing and mumbling to himself, looking over at me every once in a while. And while normally I might have just waited for him to decide on what he wanted to say it was almost time for dinner and I didn't want to be late just because he was acting like a child.

I started walking again and he followed. "Look," I said, "we're going to be late for dinner so why don't I just tell you why I'm upset and you can decide whether you actually want to apologize or not. You know how I hate fake apologies." I waited for him to reply but he just nodded and continued to follow me. "First of all, you've been acting like a jerk to people and its staring to annoy me. Secondly, just because you don't like someone, in this case Harry although I can name quite a few more, doesn't mean that you are allowed to make fun of them as much as you want. And third, that Remembrall was a gift, to Neville from his grandmother, and if she cared enough to give him a gift who are you to take it from him." I finished and stopped just short of the corridor in front of the Great Hall. There was a pause before he spoke.

"I'm sorry you feel that way," he said in a very monotone, uncaring tone. I looked over to Draco to see him looking at me with that fake expression on his face he put on when he wanted to hide what he was feeling; one with cold, hard eyes and a straight face. I took my hands and pressed on his cheeks just to see if I could get his expression to change. His eyes softened a bit but that was it; at least he hadn't completely changed. I sighed, said "Me too" and went to find a seat in the Slytherin table.

This time I sat next to Daphne rather than at my usual place next to Draco. He came in shortly after I did and took his regular seat by Crabbe and Goyle. Once he did Draco glanced at me to see me having found a new spot for the day, and looked back, still pretending not to care. Seeing that there was clear tension between us Pansy took the opportunity to take my spot and sit right next to Draco, although scooting a little closer to him than I would have. Which was why, I had realized, Pansy had been so angry with me for spending time with Draco; she liked him. To what degree that was I wasn't sure but apparently it was enough to hold a grudge against me.

Daphne and I spoke of random things, one of which being the most recent flying lesson, while avoiding the subject of Harry and Draco's little standoff. I was glad to see that Harry hadn't been expelled as Madam Hooch had warned us we would've been if found on a broom. Fred and George walked into the hall then, rushing over to Harry; I saw them hunched over whispering to him. They all seemed happy about whatever they were talking about and the twins walked away just as Draco walked into view. He started telling Harry and Ron things that made them look angry. I excused myself from the table, mainly to Daphne, and started to head to the Gryffindor table when I bumped into Fred and George.

"Hey there you are" said Fred with a smile on his face and George by his side like usual

"Hi" I said and smiled back. Behind them I saw Draco had walked away from Harry. He seemed pleased with whatever he had just told him and Ron but stopped when he saw who I was talking to.

"We wanted to know if you wanted to come with us" George said

"We're going with a friend of ours to check out a secret passageway. So, you want to come?" Fred asked and I replied with a "Yes". They both looked happy with my answer and led me out the door. I caught sight of Draco as we left and he looked very angry. He was yelling at Goyle as the twins and I left the Hall. I met Fred and George's friend, Lee Jordan, who reminded me a lot of the boys. He also had a great sense of humor and acted very laidback just like the twins did. Unfortunately for them the secret passage they thought led out of the school actually just led to a restricted section within the school. They told me it was still good to know these things but I could tell they were disappointed.

As it got later we said goodbye to Lee as Fred and George offered to walk me to the Slytherin dormitories. While they couldn't come in without the password there was no rule that said they couldn't wait outside so I agreed. On the way there I told them of the gifts Aunt Sacha had given me and showed them the necklace, which I was still wearing. George commented that it was pretty while Fred tried to convince me to let him borrow it so he could sneak in a potion to prank someone; obviously I said no. The boys also told me that the reason Professor McGonagall had taken Harry from class was to make him part of the Gryffindor Quidditch team, that they were also members of.

"Beaters" they said at the same time.

"Just keep it a secret, we're not supposed to tell people yet" George told me

"But why are you telling me this if it's supposed to be a secret. I am your rivaling house you know" I reminded them as we approached the Slytherin common room entrance.

"Because we trust you" they said

"And who cares if you're on the rival house, you're still our friend" Fred said and gave me a hug. George did the same, putting his arms around Fred so I would be stuck in the middle. I laughed and told them to wish Harry good luck for me. We said goodbye to each other as we each headed to our own dorms for bed.


	11. Halloween

As the next month went by classes went on like normal and I was still upset with Draco. He hadn't apologized or even tried to be the slightest bit nice to anyone outside Slytherin. _He could at least pretend like normal people._ I would still talk to him from time to time but not as much as before. Draco kept complaining about Harry too, how it wasn't fair that they kept bending the rules for him; apparently he had gotten a new broom from Professor McGonagall for being accepted into the Gryffindor Quidditch team. And although it was a bit unfair it wasn't like Professor Snape didn't let us get away with things he wouldn't allow any other student to do.

And while our little feud went on Pansy was more than happy to take my spot next to Draco. It was obvious now that she had just been nice to me in the beginning for her own benefit. Our room had been divided between her with Millicent and me with Daphne, as if we had a feud of our own. It was okay though as I had Daphne and Hermione, although she was a Gryffindor so I saw her less. We had been getting along more and I usually spent time with them after meals or in my free time if I wasn't with Fred and George. Unfortunately the two girls didn't like each other very much so I had to spend time with each individually rather than with both. Still, it was fun.

"They are just so selfish!" Hermione said as we walked around on Halloween morning. She was complaining about Ron and Harry "Do you know how many points they've lost our house? I don't even know, I lost count!"

"Well I'm not saying that you should forgive them right away but ignoring them isn't going to solve anything"

"You mean like you're doing with Draco?" she said in a snide tone but looked sorry right after. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean that"

"You did mean it but it's okay, you're right. I should talk to him but he's just been so…" I said searching for the right words. He'd been acting distant and put up that face he always made. It wasn't as if I didn't want to talk to him it's just I wanted to talk to the actual Draco, not that boy he kept pretending to be. Why bother when it wouldn't even be the real him. Hermione and I talked a little more but she left a short time after, having to go to Charms, and we agreed to meet before the Halloween feast. She never showed up.

I asked around to some of the other Gryffindor girls and some told me that Hermione had been in the girl's lavatory all afternoon. I went there to see if she was okay and found her crying in one of the cubicles.

"They're jerks!" she said as she explained to me what had happened.

"Ron was just jealous you got the feather to float and he didn't" I said trying to calm her down. I had gotten her to stop crying but she still seemed upset. Hermione and I talked for a while until it was time for the Halloween Feast. She said she wanted some more time alone and she'd be fine so I left her and headed for the Great Hall. Everything was fine and the feast was great, that is until a troll decided to make an appearance.

"Come, this way!" said our prefects as we all headed to our houses. Everyone seemed scared, especially the first years as the muggle-born had probably never even heard of trolls actually existing.

"Hermione!" I screamed as I realized that she wasn't with her house. _She must still be in the lavatory! _ I thought and tried to sneak away from the group. I was almost away from our house when I felt myself stop. I couldn't just leave her by herself, unaware that there was a troll in the school, but I was too much of a coward to go. I was trying to convince myself to start again when Draco saw me and stepped in front of me.

"Where do you think you're going? Did you not just hear them say there's a troll in here?" he yelled.

"Yeah I did but Hermione isn't!" I said taking just a few steps trying to get around him. "She's in the girl's lavatory and doesn't know what's going on. I have to go tell her!"

"I am not going to let you do something this reckless for some Gryffindor girl" he said trying to get me to go back to our group who was beginning to get far ahead of us. "If she's stupid enough to get caught by that thing then that's her fault!"

"Draco!" I backed away to leave but he caught my wrist and pulled me towards him.

"Even if you did go what makes you think that you'd be of any help? Let's just go." He said almost pleading but I wouldn't budge and his grip wouldn't either.

"Alright, fine I get she's you're friend or whatever but you know how stupid this is! She'll be fine! All the professors are out looking for that thing and will probably catch it before she even knows about the troll. She'll be fine" he insisted when I gave him a doubtful look

"But what if you're wrong?" I was a coward but I didn't want anything to happen to her. Secretly though I was grateful Draco had stopped me.

"Then I'd rather it be her than you" he said and started walking me back towards the stairs. I would have argued but I saw Harry and Ron start to head in the direction of the girl's lavatory so I went with Draco. That and this was the first time I had seen Draco show any emotion other than anger in a long time. I heard him sigh as I let him pull me towards our house. When we got to the common room a few of our housemates sent looks our way but no one really said anything. Pansy had been by the door, probably waiting for Draco, but when she saw me she left to our room. We all finished the feast and I talked with Draco for a while and was relieved when we were all told that the troll had been caught. It soon became late and Draco and I stayed in the common room to talk a little bit longer while everyone went off to bed. He apologized to me for the way he'd been acting and I forgave him. I just hoped he wouldn't make me regret it.


	12. Quidditch

The next day I saw Hermione and couldn't help but go hug her. She told me about what happened in the girl's lavatory and how I had been right to think Ron and Harry would go after her. I was happy that they were getting along better. We spent a little more time together before breakfast where we said goodbye to each other and made our ways to our own tables. As I was looking for a place to sit I saw Draco with Crabbe, Goyle and Pansy. As I got closer I saw him smile at me, I smiled back. He then got up and stood by me, gesturing to the space next to me so I could sit there.

"Move" he said looking over at Pansy

"What?!" she screamed in disbelief of what Draco had just said. She looked towards me with a look of pure hatred and didn't budge. Draco was about to say something else when I interrupted

"It's okay, don't worry, I was going to go sit with Daphne anyway" I told him before anything happened, but I had to admit the look on Pansy's face was great. Draco looked a little upset but he sat back down next to Pansy who was happy to see me walking away but still looked pretty annoyed. I took my seat next to Daphne and we ate as she made jokes about Pansy probably planning my death. They would've been funny if I didn't believe that she was.

Time went by, classes were the same, and soon enough it was Potions. Draco was my partner, as usual, and Professor Snape was going around checking our work. As he stopped at each pair I couldn't help but notice that he was limping slightly. I waved to Hermione who waved back. Next to her Harry and Ron looked at each other; it seemed they found our relationship weird, which I understood considering we were in rival houses. After class we all left the room to find Fred and George Weasley leaning against the wall waiting for us.

"What are you two doing here?" their brother Ron asked

"We're here to pick up Harry. Wood wanted to get in a little last minute practice." Word had gotten out about Harry being on the Gryffindor Quidditch team so their words didn't really surprise anyone.

"Oh, alright" Harry said and walked away from Ron and Hermione. Everyone around us started to whisper about Harry as he walked towards the twins. Some thought Harry was going to be the new Gryffindor secret weapon. Others, however, thought he was going to crash and fall; one of those others was Draco.

"Hey, Kitty, you wanna come with?"

"What?" I asked being taken back by the question. I wasn't the only one surprised as everyone seemed a little shocked by it. Oliver Wood, captain of the Gryffindor Quidditch team, had made sure that nobody saw their new seeker in action so it would've been a shock even if they'd asked their brother, much less me. Fred and George didn't seem bothered by what was going on around them, standing there smiling and waiting for my answer. "Uh, it's okay, I was planning on doing something, but you guys have fun" I said.

The boys shrugged and took Harry with them up the stairs and towards the Quidditch field. Draco and I spent some time in his room and we talked about what the match tomorrow between Slytherin and Gryffindor and who we thought was going to win. We would have done all this talking in the common room if it weren't for Pansy and her constant need to give me death glares any time I was near him. Draco insisted that Slytherin would win but I kept thinking that there had to be a reason why Oliver Wood was hiding Harry. Draco avoided talking about Fred and George as we both knew he'd end up insulting them and I'd get annoyed or angry with him. The fact that he tried to manage his insults even a little was a sign that he was at least trying so I was happy with that.

Soon enough it was Saturday and time for the Quidditch match. Everyone was sitting in the stands waiting for the game to start. Slytherins and Gryffindors each screamed and cheered for their house team some even made banners. On the stand to my right were Hermione, Ron, Neville and two other Gryffindor boys standing next to one which read _Potter for President._ A lot of the Slytherins by me made jokes of how we'd all be doomed if he was but I thought it was sweet that they took the time to make it for their friend. The day was cold and I shivered under my robes. Draco, who was sitting next to me, saw this and scooted closer to me to warm me up and I thanked him. I appreciate the gesture but from what I could see Pansy didn't.

The stands got louder as the players started to walk onto the field, the Slytherins in their green robes while the Gryffindors were in scarlet. I didn't know many of the Slytherin players but I cheered for them anyway as they were my house team but I also cheered for the twins. As the game started I noticed that Lee Jordan, the boy I met when with the twins, was commentating. Through the game he was obviously biased, having Professor McGonagall next to him making sure he didn't stray too far; it was rather funny. In the middle of the game Harry's broom started losing control and he almost fell off several times. I worried he would hurt himself even with George and Fred under him ready to catch him if he fell, but Draco found the scene hilarious. I had to slap his arm several times so he wouldn't laugh out loud, but he still managed to. Soon Harry got back on his broom and even caught the Golden Snitch. Gryffindor roared in cheers as they won 170 to 60. Slytherins were all upset, especially the Quidditch captain, but I clapped anyway; they had to admit Harry did more than well for a first year.

Fred and George saw me clapping and smiled up at me. I mouthed "good job" and they smiled wider before disappearing from the field. Next to me Draco grunted and commented several times on how they didn't really do anything but besides that kept pretty quiet. We then made our way from the stands and everyone separated to spend the rest of their Saturday doing whatever they wanted. Draco and I spent the rest of ours drinking hot chocolate outside in the cold. Even though I shivered a lot I still loved the cold; the feeling of it made me happy for some reason. Overall it was a good day.


	13. Winter Vacation

I had learned time passed quickly at Hogwarts. November had quickly turned into December and that too passed rather fast. It seemed like only yesterday that I had been sitting in the stands at the first Quidditch game of the year. Now, I was packing, getting ready for my vacation at home. In my room three of us were packing, me, Daphne, and Pansy. Recently Daphne and I had grown even closer while Pansy and I grew farther apart. As of late she had done nothing but give me glares and criticize and gossip about me to whoever bothered to listen.

As we finished packing our luggage Daphne and I hugged and said goodbye to one another. Pansy stormed out of the room before we could say anything to her. I tried to not be rude to people but Pansy made it really hard to act nice.

"Don't pay attention to her. She just wants to get under your skin" Daphne told me as we got our stuff and headed to the common room.

"I know that she likes Draco and all but what does that have to do with me?" I asked slightly hoping that Daphne could help me understand. I mean Draco and I spent a lot of time together but I also spoke to Fred and George a lot and if she wanted to be with him she could always do it when I was with them. That and she had permanently taken my place next to Draco during our meals in the Great Hall. Honestly, I didn't understand what she was so angry about.

"Wait, are you serious?" Daphne asked as if my question had an obvious answer. When she saw my confused expression she looked surprised. "Wow. You really don't see it do you?"

"See what?"

"Wow" was all she said as we walked into the Slytherin common room. Draco was waiting there for me next to his luggage. We had agreed to sit next to each other on the train home. Daphne looked like she wanted to say something else but stopped, looked at Draco for a second, then turned to me again and quickly said her last goodbye before walking out of the door.

"What's with her?" Draco asked as he met me by where I was standing. I wasn't sure so I simply shrugged and smiled at him.

We began to walk up the stairs towards the Great Hall as a little stop before we left. I had wanted to say goodbye to Hermione and I knew she'd be there saying goodbye to Ron and Harry, she'd told me so. Crabbe and Goyle had taken our bags and gone to save Draco and me a compartment on the Hogwarts Express. They seemed to have developed some sort of obedience towards Draco but they looked happy so I didn't argue it. Draco grumbled a little on our way to the Great Hall as he didn't see the point of going through so much trouble "just for a Gryffindor girl".

In the Great Hall we found her along with Harry and Ron sitting and talking. Draco waited for me by the door as I made my way to the three Gryffindors. They looked very close now and it was nice to see them like that, Hermione looked happy. Farther ahead of them I saw Fred and George joking with their friend Lee. They had told me that their parents weren't going to be home as they were visiting one of their brothers in Romania so they were staying at Hogwarts this year. I kept walking and as I came closer Ron saw me and hushed the other two.

"Hi!" Hermione said and came over and hugged me. I said hello back and hugged her tight. Just like with Daphne, Hermione and I had been getting closer. We separated and wished each other a fun vacation. She said I had to write to her while we were gone and I said she had to do the same. Soon we started laughing and talking and I didn't realize how long we had been doing it until I heard Draco loudly clear his throat by the door. I turned to see him tapping his foot impatiently staring at us as he did. I sighed and told Hermione one last goodbye before walking towards the door.

"Why do you talk to her? She's a Slytherin" I heard Ron say as I walked away. I kept walking and pretended not to hear, it was an understandable question, but I heard Hermione hit him anyway. He complained to her but didn't say anything else. The scene, even if I wasn't watching it, reminded me a lot of Draco and me; maybe Draco wasn't as different as I thought he was. _Maybe it's a boy thing _I wondered as I just about reached Draco.

"Kitty!" I heard a familiar voice call and turned to see my two favorite twins walking towards me. Fred and George had come to say their goodbyes and wished me a happy vacation. I gave them each a hug and told them to write just as I had to Hermione. They agreed and waved goodbye as I walked over to the now irritated looking Draco.

"Wait!" I heard one them yell. I stopped but before I could even ask what was wrong they each got on either side of me and, at the same time, gave me a kiss on the cheek. My eyes went wide as they did and remained so even after they pulled back. This was the first time they had done anything like this and I wasn't really sure how to react. Before I got enough composure to ask what the reason for that had been they both got in front of me and pointed up. "Mistletoe" they said at the same time and ran back towards their friend Lee, shouting at me to have a merry Christmas. I had forgotten about the Christmas decorations on the ceiling.

I finally reached Draco by the door and he didn't look happy. We made our way to the train and he didn't say anything else until we were in the compartment. He practically kicked Crabbe and Goyle out but they didn't look as if they minded his behavior. Normally I would have scolded him for acting like that but seeing as he was angry with me I didn't feel like correcting him. But at last he spoke.

"I can't believe you let those two weasels kiss you. You'll probably get rabies or something you know" he said picking at a loose string in his robes. I had to laugh, even when he was upset at me I found him adorable.

"It was just on the cheek. It's not a bad thing. I kiss you like that all the time"

"That's different" he said and looked up at me with his big shiny silver eyes

I sat next to Draco, rather than where I'd been in front of him, and gave him a kiss on the cheek. His cheeks grew red and I rested my head against his shoulder. We remained like this for a little while, and Draco rested his head on mine. During the long ride home we talked about many things, mostly how hard it would be to be home. The reason that Draco and I had become so close as kids was because we had very similar lives at home, so we understood what each other went through. Both our fathers were very powerful and somewhat infamous wizards and we were both judged because of it. At home we were only paid attention to if something was needed from us, otherwise we were left to do as we pleased, which didn't always feel like a good thing. Draco and I had been the only people who were truly there for each other during our childhood and I was going to miss him during this vacation.


	14. Home Sweet Home

"Good morning" I said as I walked into the dining room. My parents weren't there yet but all the servants were, setting up our breakfast. I tried to not call them servants but Alla, who had been with me since I was a baby, had told me that I shouldn't feel bad; they weren't ashamed of their work. We had a lot of people working for us at home so I never really had to do any work. I would help whenever my parents weren't looking and learned a lot from everyone. My parents didn't think it okay for me to do manual labor when I could be doing something productive like learning new spells and disapproved of my working with our servants. In any case, I was proud to say that I could cook and clean as well as if I were poor.

I sat in my seat at the breakfast table and looked at the shiny plates in front of me. Everything in my house was shiny; the plates, the silverware, the floors, even the walls seemed to shine a little at times. My parents liked having the best, not wanting to settle for anything less. My mum was the first to arrive at the table. She wasn't a very tall woman, but very beautiful, and was dressed in her usual fancy looking clothes. She began to take her seat by me when she finally noticed me.

"Aren't you supposed to be at school?" she said looking confused and taking her seat

"It's the holidays, vacation"

"Oh, right" she said nothing else. Next to me she looked through the latest edition of _The_ _Daily Prophet _and made faces at the things she read_. Missed you too mum _I thought as my dad started walking into the room

"Morning" he said and walked up to my mum and kissed her on the cheek. My father, unlike me or my mother, was a tall man who looked somewhat intimidating, but seemed younger than he actually was. He sat in the chair in front of her and frowned when he saw me. Not because he wasn't happy but because he was confused. "Shouldn't you be in school?" he asked looking at me. _Did no one bother to check when I was coming back?_

"She's here for vacations dear, remember" my mum said as if she'd known the entire time handing my father the newspaper.

"Oh, right" he said taking _The_ _Daily Prophet _from my mum and adjusting himself in his seat.

Soon Alla and a few of the other workers came in with our food. We all ate together and talked about my time at Hogwarts a little. Most questions were about my classes and my progress in them rather than asking personal questions like if I'd made any new friends. They did ask me about my friends once but they mainly focused on Slytherin not the school as a whole. We were distant relatives of Salazar Slytherin from my mother's side so it was a relief for her that I had been accepted into Slytherin. We tried to hide that part of our family though as after what happened in the Wizarding War it was better if people didn't know that side of our family. This was a family secret that I hadn't even told Draco

"So how are you getting along with the Malfoy boy?" my father asked coincidentally

"Draco and I are good" I said. "We've actually been spending a lot more time together lately. It's probably because we're both Slytherin so we see each other a lot"

"And how are your classes? All good scores I assume"

"Yes I've done very well at school and have been complemented a few times."

"Good." my dad said with an approving look on his face.

"Well it sounds like fun," my mum said. "So did you make any new-"

The sound of our old grandfather clock interrupted what would have probably been the only question my parents asked about my personal life. _Of course.._. The clock struck nine times indicating the time of day. At hearing them my parents both started getting up from their seats and adjusting their clothes. "Well we best get going" my mum said and I got up as well, having expected this.

"Mr. and Mrs. Volkov, should you not spend some time with Miss Katerina" Alla said as she cleaned up the table. "She just got back and I'm sure she'd love to be with you"

While I appreciated the gesture it was obvious my parents had better things to do than spend time with their only daughter. They paused and looked at each other as if trying to think of a good enough reason that would justify leaving me alone for my first day back. My parents weren't bad people, and I knew they loved me at least to some degree, so I helped them out a little.

"It's fine, go, I'll be okay" I said to save them the trouble of looking for an excuse.

"Are you sure?" my mum asked with a hopeful look

"Yes, it's okay. It's not like I haven't been home alone before." _You sure have been gone enough times _"I'll find something to do, don't worry about me"

"Alright well I have to go meet Diana at the bookstore, better hurry or she'll be upset"

"Yes and I'm off to the ministry, got some work to get done there. Have fun Katerina" my dad said and kissed me on the top of my head before leaving with my mum.

Alla gave me a sympathetic look as she and the rest of them finished cleaning up the dining room. I gave her a smile and walked up the sweeping staircase and towards my room. This house had too many rooms; it just made the place feel emptier when my parents left. You'd think I would grow accustomed to their absence but I still had trouble with it at times. It angered me that they would act this way but there was nothing I could do; they were my parents after all. Then again, this was a very average day at home.


	15. Merry Christmas

"So it's Christmas morning and I'm alone" I said to myself as I got some hot chocolate from our kitchen. Mum and Dad had gone to some social event all day and wouldn't be back until late. They had asked me if I had wanted to come but I would rather be alone than in a place full of phony people. I just hated seeing those fake smiles and hearing those false or backhanded compliments those people said to each other. My parents said okay and left but wished me a merry Christmas before they did.

Alla had gone home to her family along with most of our other servants. My parents had wanted them to stay and keep me company, probably so they would feel better about leaving me alone on Christmas, but I declined their suggestion. It was a nice gesture on their part but I didn't want anyone else to have to be away from their loved ones on such an important day. Christmas was a time for families to be together and enjoy each other's company, and just because mine wasn't going to do that didn't mean I'd be okay depriving others of such a day. Besides there were still enough people who had decided to stay that would make sure I wasn't completely alone so my parents decided that was safe enough.

I had sent letters to all my Hogwarts friends, it helped that there weren't many that I was particularly close to. Along with the letter I gave each of my friends a gift. For Hermione I gave her a copy of a bookI expected she would enjoy reading. To Daphne I gave her a box of chocolates she had told me she loved. For Fred and George I gave them each a mini Black Russian Chocolate Pie that Alla helped me make as well as a Gobstones game set. It was a game for children but honestly those two were practically kids at times. And for Draco I took all the time I'd had alone at home to make him a knitted Slytherin Green jumper. Personally, I think it had turned out very well and Alla thought so too. He'd probably be embarrassed by the gift as it looked a little girly but I knew he'd secretly loved it.

At times I felt bad for Draco. I knew what he had to go through during this time of year. Both our parents could be very selfish at times but we had sort of grown accustomed to it by now. However, I knew it was slightly worse for Draco as, above anything else, he wanted his father's love and acceptance and would do anything for his approval. The thought of this scared me sometimes as I wasn't sure how far Draco would go to get that approval. I didn't care as much for my father's approval but rather dividing myself from him. It wasn't as if I didn't love my father I just wanted to be known for me, not for being _his _daughter. I wished I was as cold hearted as some of the other Slytherin, I wished I cared less about others, that way I could be happy just caring about me. I sighed and walked into our main living room.

Underneath the big tree that my parents had ordered to be brought in were a large amount of presents of many shapes and sizes waiting to be opened. It looked wonderful with all the different colors and lights but at the same time, it seemed out of place in this big lonely house. I thought it was depressing that so many families would have wished for such a tree, one to laugh around and exchange gifts under, yet it was stuck here with no one to truly appreciate its beauty. It hadn't even been decorated by a family, but rather the workers of one. I had helped them decorate some of it but it wasn't the same. Sometimes they felt more like a family to me than my own parents did.

As I looked through the pile of expensive gifts from my parents I saw that my friends had sent me some things as well. Hermione gave me a bundle of different sweets she knew I'd enjoy. Daphne sent me an enchanted candle that never burned out so I could read my books at night, and it smelled pretty too. The twins' gift was a little more elaborate than those. As soon as I opened their gift an explosion of fireworks flew up above me, all different colors flashing about, and between that spelled out the words "Merry Christmas" in big bold letters. As the fireworks died down I saw there was more to their gift than a pretty light show. Inside their package rested a simple white mug with a knit green sleeve covering it along with a letter.

**"****_Here's something to put all that hot chocolate you drink in. Love, Gred and Forge._****"**

It was a simple gift, not the most perfectly made either, but it was lovely. Draco also got me something he knew I would love, he knew me so well. Inside a well wrapped box, small and shiny, was a thin silver bracelet in the shape of a snake. It was sleek and simple and it wrapped perfectly around my wrist. It was beautiful. I had always found snakes as beautiful but deadly. They were okay as long as it was only a picture or sculpture of one…

After cleaning up all the wrappings, I took all my presents and headed up to my room. Once inside, I wrote all of my friends a thank you letter and as I did I couldn't help but feel a little sad. Everyone always thought my life was so great but here I was, on Christmas day, alone writing letters to the few people who cared enough about me to send me a present; those who weren't in my family anyway. People didn't understand what I went through. They only saw what they wanted to see out of me. They saw a rich girl, spoiled, one who was waited on hand and foot, but that wasn't the real me. I would usually get special treatment or maybe worse, I was treated like an enemy.

This kind of behavior taught me to close myself to other people, making it hard to get close to anyone. I acted nice because I had learned from a young age that sometimes it's better to smile at your enemy than fight them. It caused trouble for my parents too, having such a bad tempered child, it wasn't good for their "image". And as they had enough to worry about I pretended to be nice to those who treated me badly, I pretended for so long that it stuck to my personality. And as for our money, I'd rather have true friends and a family, over money any day. A family was all I had wanted as a child. Someone who would carry me on their back, spin me around, and do so until I got dizzy. Someone who would read me stories night after night. Someone that would take me on trips, just to spend time with me. Or at least someone who would spend a Christmas with me.

I heard a plop and looked down to see a wet dot on the parchment I was writing on. I rubbed my face to find it had been wet. _When had I started crying_? Either way I stopped, got a different piece, and started my letter over. I didn't want to cry anymore, I had told myself that I didn't want to cry over that any longer. I finished the letters, gave them to Whiskers to take to my friends, and sat on the edge of my bed. My face still a little sticky from the tears so I laid on my bed and wiped face on my pillow. This was one of those times where I wished I cared less about people. The really sad thing was this was one of the happiest Christmases I'd had in a while.


	16. Bravery

After the holidays passed I was more than happy to return to Hogwarts. Everyone there raved about their Christmases and all the fun things they did during our break. Fred and George had told me of all the snowball fights they had gotten into and all the time they spent with their brothers, Ron and Percy, and with Harry. "I still don't know what they have against these jumpers. I think they are lovely!"

"Yeah, you look comfortable" I had told George as I watched him hug himself in his jumper. We continued to share stories and I left out the fact that I was alone for most of my time at home but it felt as if they could tell I was hiding something. Whether they did or not they didn't bring it up. We thanked each other for our gifts and I had to repeat myself several times as they thought that theirs wouldn't be enough. Personally I had thought their gift was perfect.

During that time I saw Draco wearing my jumper a few times but he always pretended that it wasn't anything special. He was asked by a few people where he had gotten it but he always insisted that he had gotten it handmade specially for him and no one else would find one like it if they tried, it was unique. While that was technically true I still thought he could've just told them I made it, then again Pansy would probably find another reason to hate me in that. Even if he acted like it wasn't anything special I knew that it was as he was very careful to not get it stained or ripped. I did the same with his bracelet and, besides the few times that it showed under my robes, I kept it hidden, because it was special.

Some more time passed and sooner than expected came the day of the Quidditch match between Gryffindor and Hufflepuff. Draco and I, followed by Crabbe and Goyle as per usually, made our way to one of the stands to watch the game. We looked around and found enough space for all of us behind Ron, Hermione, and Neville. We sat down but only Neville noticed us as the other two kept muttering something under their breath and staring at Harry. I looked out into the field to see that not only was Professor Snape refereeing but Professor Dumbledore had come to watch the match. _Strange…_

"Ouch!" Ron said as Draco _accidentally_ poked him in the back of the head. I nudged Draco but didn't say anything else. He either didn't notice me or decided to ignore me as he then went on to tell several jokes about Harry and Ron. I turned to talk to Hermione, trying to ignore Draco, but she seemed a little distracted. She kept turning to the field and looking nervously from Harry to Professor Snape. It was true that our professor was biased towards our house and against Gryffindor's but was she really that concerned about a game?

"-you should be on the team, Longbottom, you've got no brains." Draco mockingly told Neville. Of course, I didn't find this funny. I still didn't understand why Draco insisted on being so mean to Gryffindor students when, to me, he acted just like a little puppy dog; he even had the big sparkly eyes of one. Draco and the two Slytherin boys laughed at the joke and were completely unaware of my stare as they did. I was about to scold all three of them when, to my surprise, Neville spoke for himself.

"I'm worth twelve of you, Malfoy," he stammered. Draco, Crabbe, and Goyle all laughed even harder at this, howling even, but I was proud of him. Neville was such a shy little boy and to have the courage to stand up for himself like that was rather impressive. I gave him a smile and I saw him get just a little redder than he already was.

For some reason Draco looked bothered by the fact that I was being nice to him and decided to mock both him and Ron just a little more. Seeing as Ron and Neville could stand up for themselves I turned back to the game where Harry seemed to have picked up speed and was in the chase of something, most likely the Snitch. I was so focused on the match that I almost missed Ron jumping from his seat and landing on top of Draco. At first I was so shocked that I didn't think to do anything and was even more so when I saw Neville jump back towards Crabbe and Goyle. Standing up I tried to find a way to break them up but couldn't seem to find one. It was kind of hard to stop the fight from happening as not only was I the only one trying but they kept moving around making it hard to even stay standing.

"We've won! Gryffindor is in the lead!" Hermione screamed and hugged some girl in the row in front of girl while I still tried to stop what was going on next to me. Crabbe and Goyle were easily overtaking Neville and Ron and Draco had managed to punch each other a few times. I was just about to separate those two when Hermione reached over to me and put me in a big bear hug. Her face was turned the opposite way from the fight so she still didn't see it. I tried to get her to stop hugging me or at least turn her a little so she could see what was happening but nothing worked, she was too excited.

"Neville!" I gasped as I saw him being knocked out by Goyle. That finally caught Hermione's attention enough to see what had been going on behind her. She helped me break up Ron and Draco as I kept Crabbe and Goyle away so they couldn't do any more harm. It appeared as if those two were the only ones who hadn't gotten hurt as Neville had been knocked out and among the few punches Draco had gotten a black eye and Ron a bloody nose.

We were able to go get Madam Pomfrey, our school nurse, to come get Neville shortly after. As he was carried away Hermione and Ron took the time to cheer for Harry while the rest of the Gryffindors rushed to him. Ron still had a pretty heavy nosebleed but we were able to calm it down a bit; it was pretty impressive that Draco had been the one to do that, not that I thought that justified the act. Maybe it was due to the fact he grew up with so many brothers but Ron took his injury in a very mature way. Draco on the other hand kept complaining about his black eye and didn't stop until I hugged him.

"I can't believe that runt weasel did this to me!" he grumbled as he leaned against my shoulder in the Slytherin common room. I was a little surprised too; both Ron and Draco were stronger than I had given them credit for.

"It was your own fault" I replied but patted his cheek as a sort of consolation. He went on to complain some more but I wasn't listening too well. The little fight had surprised me and not just Draco's with Ron but Neville's with Crabbe and Goyle. Neville was braver than he was given credit for. While I always did think of him as a somewhat delicate boy he had certainly proven himself today. He took on Crabbe and Goyle _alone_ who were not only big and strong but maybe even scary. Contrary to what many may think, maybe what he himself thought, I believed that there was more to Neville than he led on to believe. He may be a little boy now but even a cub becomes a lion eventually.


	17. Studies

It was getting closer to exams and Hermione and I had been studying like mad. She wanted to get the best grade possible and I wanted to make my parents proud. I was sure both of us could pass and be able to get into next year but I still wanted to try my best. We studied together a few times, correcting each other in the fields that we each had an advantage in. I was really focused on our History of Magic examination as that was my weakest subject. Hermione however seemed to be preoccupied with other things and was a little distracted from her work.

"Hermione" I said for the tenth time before she finally turned to look at me. "Are you okay? You look a bit anxious."

"Yeah," she said absentmindedly. "I guess I've just been focusing too much on finding Nicholas Fla-" she slapped her hand over her mouth before she could finish the sentence. She looked back down at her book and pretended not to have said anything. I didn't ask since she obviously hadn't intended to tell me whatever was going on with her and we went back to studying. She looked up at me a few times but otherwise we both ignored the subject. I could see she was relieved I hadn't pressure her into telling me but she still wasn't focusing too well. It wasn't long after that we decided to take a break from it; we had studied enough as it was.

Some days later I began helping Draco with his studies as well. It was a little hard as I kept getting distracted just as Hermione had. In fact, she was what was distracting me at the moment. I was a little worried about her as whatever was going on was important enough to distract her from her studies. And knowing Hermione as well as I did I knew that something had to be big in order to do that. I didn't tell Draco about Hermione as he'd either take it as inspiration for new insults or just complain about our friendship again. But I did manage to concentrate enough to help Draco somewhat that morning. While he wasn't too bad he certainly needed help with a few of the subjects.

"I still say you cheat" he grumbled as he saw how much farther in the readings I was than him. I smiled and we continued to study. We mainly focused on History of Magic as I still needed to study that a little more myself. We knew we'd do well with Potions, and as for our Transfiguration and Charms, that required more practice than reading.

There was a knock on Draco's door and Crabbe and Goyle came into their room. To my surprise Draco didn't kick them out as he usually did when we were in his room. I wasn't sure if it was just my overactive imagination again but he looked a little relieved to see them. They had come in to ask Draco for help with something.

"What is it that you need help with?" I asked them in case I could help as well but they refused to tell me. All they said was they needed Draco's help with "something". Draco also looked like he didn't want me to go with them for whatever reason so I let it go. I got my stuff and headed out of his room and towards mine. As I walked up the girls' stairs I saw Crabbe and Goyle sit in the common room but with no Draco. I kept to my room and couldn't help but wonder what he was up to.

After that day Draco looked very happy with whatever it was he had done after I left him. I also noticed that Hermione looked even more nervous than she had before, especially when she was near Draco. It was strange how every time Draco and I got near her, Ron, or Harry, they became worried. I would've asked Draco or Hermione about what was going on but if they had wanted me to know they would have told me themselves. Still, it bothered me not to know.

I sat in the common room for a little while and read from the potions book Aunt Sacha had sent me. Pansy had been especially nasty as of late and wanted some space. This to her meant that she would nag or "accidentally" run into me if I got anywhere near her. I needed some space too so I came down here to read. It got late and all the Slytherin students began going up to their own dormitories. One by one they all left until I was alone for the night. It was really late now, near midnight, and I was about to leave when I saw Draco sneaking his way into the common room. He stopped dead in his tracks when he saw me.

"What are you doing here?" I said suspiciously as I put my book down.

"What are _you_ doing here?" he asked me as he slyly inched his way towards the door. It was odd; Draco was rude and stubborn and as all Slytherin he wasn't above breaking the rules but it was still strange. He knew he had to keep himself out of trouble as much as possible. I didn't know why he was purposefully breaking rules and heading out at such a late hour.

"I wanted some space to read" I said gesturing to my book. He became even more nervous as I started walking towards him. He slowly backed away from me and more towards the door but still didn't say anything. "And you, why up so late?"

"Umm… Lavatory! Yeah I have to go to the toilet" he said as he reached the door. I sighed at his excuse; he had always been a terrible liar. He covered his head with the hood of his robe and slowly started to open the door. He watched me as he backed out of the room making sure that I didn't follow him.

"Just be careful, okay?" I said before he was completely out of the room. He nodded a bit and hurried out. The door closed and I stood there watching it for a little longer. It wasn't until I heard the clock in the room indicate it was midnight that I finally moved. When I did I went over to where I had been sitting before Draco arrived and grabbed my book. Whatever he was up to I just hoped he would stay safe. It wasn't like Draco to risk getting in trouble for no reason so I had to trust that this was a good one. "_Reducio_" I said, pointing my wand, and the book shrunk back down to its pocket size. I went up to my room where Millicent, Daphne, and Pansy were all already sleeping, and put my book away in a safe place. Once ready for bed I lay down and wished Draco remained safe. I kept my thoughts on him as I began to fall asleep. _If he gets in trouble I'll kill him_


	18. Detention

"I can't believe you!" I yelled at Draco when I found out why he had snuck out that night

"He had a dragon with him!" he exclaimed, defending himself

"I don't care if he had You-Know-Who with him! Actually I would care then… That's not the point! Detention, Draco?!" he flinched away at my words. He had gotten detention from Professor McGonagall after she had caught him sneaking out that day. Apparently he had been trying to catch Harry and Hermione sneaking a dragon out of the school. Unfortunately for Draco there was no dragon, only him, alone, in the middle of the night. It was days before he was told what his detention was but at last he was told to meet Mr. Filch in the entrance hall.

"Be good" I said as he headed out that night

"Yeah, yeah" he said looking around waiting for me to let him leave

"I'm serious" I said bringing his attention back to me. "School is almost over and I don't want you getting into any more trouble." He scoffed but said okay when he saw my worried face.

Being as paranoid and overanxious as I am I stayed up the whole night in the common room, waiting for him to come back. Sometime during the night Daphne had come in and brought me a blanket before she made her way up to bed. I drank some hot chocolate and stared into the fireplace until I fell asleep on the sofa. It wasn't until Draco arrived early morning that I woke up.

"Have you been here all night?" he asked looking worried and took a seat next to me.

"Yeah" I replied and yawned as I rearranged myself in my seat. As I took a better look at him I realized that he looked quite frightened and I highly doubted it was because I had stayed out of bed. "You okay, Deedee? How was it?"

"Nothing I couldn't handle" he said with a brave face but I knew him better than to believe it. I scooted closer to him and hugged him, wrapping my blanket around both of us as I did.

"Better?" I asked and gave him a smile

"Yeah…" he said as he hugged me back under the thick fabric.

He didn't tell me what it was that had scared him so much from his time in detention but he still looked somewhat frightened. I saw Harry and Hermione, who had also had detention with Draco, looked bothered as well. Whatever it was they had been made to do must have been pretty terrifying. But I didn't think about it long as soon enough it was time for our exams.

Some of the exams had been easier than others. The Charms exam with Professor Flitwick had been simpler than I had expected. Hermione had said she felt very confident about that one. She had still looked worried but as we got deeper into the exams she seemed more focused on them and less on whatever was bothering her. Professor McGonagall's exam had been a little more intimidating but overall it wasn't too bad. I was happy to have gotten a "well done" from her before I left. The Potions and History of Magic examinations were the easiest of them all. I had always loved Potions and as I had studied History of Magic the most it was something that I now knew quite a lot about.

Everyone cheered as the exams ended and we all now had a week to ourselves until our scores were released. Draco had gone with Crabbe, Goyle, and Pansy somewhere after much of her insisting. I walked over to the Great Lake to find Fred and George there playing with what looked like the tentacles of a giant squid with Lee. I stopped to talk to them for a little while but as it got late I made my way to my room. I would have been out celebrating like the rest of the students but I couldn't get myself to relax.

I had a strange feeling about everything that was going on. There were things happening that I knew nothing about. Draco had seen something while in detention, something terrifying enough to try to keep me from finding out. Hermione was worried about something too and she didn't want to tell me either, which still bothered me a little. There was more that I didn't know, I was sure of that, I just wasn't sure how horrible those things were. It was scary to think about.

Next morning I took a walk down to the west wing courtyard and stayed there a while. Everyone seemed really excited and happy to not have to deal with exams anymore. Unfortunately, that happiness was short lived when Fred ran in looking worried and a bit of a mess

"Harry and Ron are hurt! They're in the hospital wing now!" he yelled into the courtyard. He looked at me for a second before fading from sight. _I knew something had to be wrong! _I thought and started down the corridors and towards the hospital along with most of the other students. When we got there I saw Hermione sitting next to Ron's bed as they both looked over to Harry, who looked worse off than the two. I rushed over to her and she hugged me when she saw me.

"What happened?" I asked but she didn't say anything. She had a few scuffs and scratches but nothing too bad, Ron was a little worse off but neither of them looked as bad as Harry. He was out cold as Madam Pomfrey treated him and told every curious student that got close to back away. Fred and George came to see how Ron was doing but it didn't take long for Madam Pomfrey to kick all of us out. Only Hermione was allowed to stay as Madam Pomfrey wanted to make sure she was really okay and not at risk of going into shock or something. The next day Hermione and Ron were let go but Harry still hadn't woken up. We all worried about him and hoped that he would be okay.


	19. Closing Ceremonies

"Why are you bothering sending Potter something?" Draco asked as he saw me setting up a parcel for Harry. He had woken up today but they were keeping him another day at the hospital wing just to be safe.

"Because I want to" I replied and handed Whiskers the parcel to take to the hospital wing for me. I would have taken it myself but Madam Pomfrey was refusing to allow any sort of visitors, only having allowed Ron and Hermione on Harry's insistence.

Everyone had done nothing but talk about them and what had happened since they came back. Hermione had given me a quick summary of what had happened and, even though it was only a brief description, it was enough to scare me stiff. The three of them were braver than anyone I had ever met and I was proud to call her my friend even though I thought her actions had been reckless and maybe even stupid. Maybe that's why I didn't belong in Gryffindor; as much as I cared about others, especially when compared to other Slytherin, in the end I always looked after myself. Nonetheless, even though what she told me was all meant to be a secret, everyone in the school knew what had happened before the end-of-year feast even began.

I walked into the Great Hall with Draco and saw the entire place covered in Slytherin green and silver as for our house victory for the seventh year in a row. Draco looked smug, as did a lot of the other Slytherin. We found a seat in the very happy looking Slytherin table. It was strange, I couldn't recall a time where I had seen all of them look so happy at the same time. We all sat around, excited to start the ceremony, when Harry walked in. Everyone got quiet all at once and after two beats they all began to talk really loudly again. Harry went to sit next to Hermione and Ron and looked embarrassed as people went out of their way to get a good look at him

"I still don't see what the big deal is" Draco grumbled next to me. Unfortunately for Pansy he had chosen to sit next to me and Daphne today rather than her and her friends.

"You try doing what he did then" I replied as he made a face. He was about to make a snide comment, I guessed from the look on his face, when Dumbledore took his place at the High Table and began his speech. He looked cheerful like he usual looked and said those weird things he usually said. He began to announce the points and to no one's surprise Slytherin got the highest, winning us the house cup. Everyone in our table cheered loudly and Draco even began banging his goblet on the table.

"Yes, yes, well done Slytherin. However, recent events must be taken into account" Dumbledore said making a lot of the Slytherins' smiles fade a little or for some completely away. "I have a few more points to dish out."

Dumbledore gave a large amount of points to the three brave Gryffindors. Hermione and Ron each got fifty while Harry got sixty. Everyone at my table complained, claiming last minute points weren't fair, but no one dared say that to Dumbledore. We had tied with Gryffindor now and I was okay with that. I cheered for them and was the only one at my table who wasn't enraged by the news. But he wasn't done; Dumbledore raised his hand and everyone fell into silence. What he said surprised everyone but I was happy to hear the words come out of his mouth

"I therefore award ten points to Mr. Neville Longbottom." Neville was white with shock and everyone at his table shouted, cheered, or rushed to hug him. I cheered from my seat at the Slytherin table and received many glares from those around me. Those who were able to do so anyway as a lot of everyone else was too busy being stunned and horrified by our sudden loss to pay any attention to me. One of them was Draco who didn't move for much of the rest of the ceremony.

Before long the exams were scored and it was time to go home once again. I had gotten very good grades and was among one of the highest in my year, not before Hermione of course who was at the top. We all got ready for the train and received notes reminding us not to use magic outside of the school. A few students grumbled when reading them but it was okay, we'd be back at Hogwarts soon enough. Just as I had on the way here I sat with Fred and George on the way home. Hermione would be with Ron and Harry and I knew I would most likely see Draco maybe even Daphne over the break so I wanted to spend some time with Fred and George while I still could.

The trip back to Platform Nine and Three-Quarters went faster than I would've liked and I had to say goodbye to my friends. I said goodbye to Hermione and stayed behind a little to say goodbye to Daphne before she crossed through the ticket barrier. I got a little distracted, looking at the Hogwarts Express, before going with the twins past the ticket barrier myself. Once across I walked with them to where their family was. Ron was already there with a woman and a girl who I assumed where their mother and sister. She greeted her two sons with warm hugs and kisses as their younger sister, Ginevra I think, stared at me.

"Oh, right" Fred said as he realized they didn't know who I was. He and George walked back to where I was standing and rested his elbow on my shoulder. "Everyone, this is Kitty. Kitty, this is our mum. That over there is our sister, Ginny. This here is our younger brother, Ron. Over here is George, or Georgie, if you prefer. And I'm Fred"

"I think she gets it" Ron mumbled at Fred's introduction but I laughed.

"Hello, dear, it's nice to finally meet you. Fred and George have told us so much about you" said their mother with a warm smile. She seemed like a nice lady and I smiled back

"_So_ _much_. They hardly ever shut up about-" Ginny began to say before Fred covered her mouth. George stood in front of them trying to cover the seen but they were about as sly as I was a muggle.

"Katerina!" I heard a familiar voice call and saw my mother and father standing across from us with Alla beside them. I was surprised to see them but happy at the same time. They on the other hand looked a bit annoyed, noticing who I was talking to most likely having expected to see me with Draco.

"Is that your aunt?"

"No that's Alla" I said looking at where George had been pointing. I had already told them about her which saved me the trouble of having to repeat myself in front of their family. I knew Ron already didn't like me and I didn't want to give the rest of their family a reason too. I gave Fred and George each a hug and said goodbye to their family before making my way towards my own.

"Goodbye mystery girl!" I turned to see Percy had joined the rest of the Weasleys and they were all walking away, as a family. When I reached mine my father gave me a quick kiss on the forehead and my mum gave me one on the cheek. They then began to walk on ahead, expecting me to follow.

"Did you enjoy your time at Hogwarts?" Alla asked taking my cart and Whiskers from me

"Are you kidding? I can't wait to go back!"


	20. Second Year

So the first year is over...

I want to thank everyone who reviewed

Or even if you just read I hoped you enjoyed it :)

I'm not sure about writing the second year

Please let me know what you think I'd appreciate it


	21. Summer Fun

My first year at Hogwarts was over and now I was home. My parents had seemed happy to see me but after a few days things went back to normal and they went back to ignoring me. During the summer I spent most of my time studying for next year's classes and doing the homework I had been assigned. I really had nothing else that I wanted to do here. I would write Fred, George, Daphne and Hermione a lot too. I wanted to make sure I wouldn't lose touch with the new friends I had made, or the old one I had either. Draco visited a lot in the summer so I didn't need to write to him. It was August now and I was sitting in our patio with Draco drinking "cold coco". It was just like hot chocolate except made to be cold with ice so I could enjoy it in the summers. Alla had given it to me one summer and we kept the tradition going. Draco had given me a few looks when looking at the mug he knew had been given to me by Fred and George. He had complained about it before but after a while he knew I wouldn't change my mind about keeping it so he kept silent.

"Why is that _thing_ here?" he said looking over at Lev who was making his way towards us. Lev was my new puppy, given to me by my parents. They had said it was a reward for getting such good grades on my first year examinations. He was a white Samoyed pup with dark blue eyes that looked almost black. He was adorable. As most Samoyed dogs Lev was really playful and sweet, well to me at least. He didn't really seem to like other people.

"He wanted to come outside, I guess." I answered as Lev ran up to us. He stopped in front of us and turned to growl at Draco until he scooted away from. Once there was enough room for him he sat between Draco and me and looked happy while doing it. My pup was very protective of me and didn't like it when others were around me, not even my parents. It was unusual behavior for his breed but that made him special and made me love him even more. Being a magical dog he could do things normal dogs couldn't, and I knew he scared Draco because of it

"Evil mutt" Draco muttered under his breath and Lev barked at him, loudly. Draco flinched away and tried to cover it up by pretending he had just wanted to adjust himself in his seat which made me laugh. Between the two of them it was almost too cute to handle. "Why did you even get this one? I'm sure there must've been better, less aggressive dogs around"

"My parents took me to pick out a pet I liked and I liked him so I brought him home with me" I said reaching over to Lev and hugging him. He licked my cheek and smiled a big puppy smile. I did the same and placed him on my lap

"You know they're just using it as an excuse for when they leave you alone" Draco said scooting closer to me and taking up the space that Lev had left behind. I smiled at him a little as I knew he was right. Ever since Lev had been with me they had gone out more than usual. Not that I minded, even when they were home I felt alone. _At least now I have him_ I thought as I stroked Lev's head "But I still don't see how a demon dog can be a reward"

Lev didn't like this comment and bit Draco in his hand. I didn't blame him, he was just a misunderstood pup, and he wasn't evil just a bit over protective. Before either of them did something stupid I sent Lev inside with Bonny, our house elf, to get something to eat. He didn't like her too much but he didn't bark at her so I knew they'd be okay

"Ow. Ow!" Draco complained as I wrapped a bandage around the bite mark

"Well what did you expect?" I told him. He continued to grumble until I finished and thanked me when I did. We sat around for a while and talked, mostly about Hogwarts. It was exciting to think of all the new things we would learn this year, as well as all the Quidditch matches we would get to see.

"Why are you so interested in Quidditch, it's nothing special" he said when I had told him I was looking forward to seeing the games again

"Are you kidding? They're all such talented fliers and I really like their uniforms and… I don't know. Quidditch players are just amazing" I said not being able to explain exactly why I loved them so much. I wish I was skilled enough to play but my parents would never allow me to do something so dangerous even if I had made the team.

"Are they…" Draco said absentmindedly looking around as if distracted. In part I think my excitement for the game was more of me trying to sidetrack myself from what I was really thinking. The truth was I was scared to go back to Hogwarts. A lot had happened last year and I didn't know if I wanted to be around for more. Draco noticed. "What is it?"

"I was thinking about last year…" Ron, Harry, and Hermione had gone through a lot last year and it was a miracle that they had gotten such light injuries. Hermione had told me all things that Dumbledore hadn't and I had to admit it was terrifying. "What if Hogwarts isn't as safe as everyone thinks?"

"Of course it is" Draco said as if it was obvious but his eyes softened when he saw how worried I was. "It'll be fine, don't worry. Even if there is something wrong there's that idiot Dumbledore taking care of us students. And if not then you always have me and that demon dog of yours" he said looking over at the door that Lev was standing behind. I laughed and hugged him as he seemed more scared of a little puppy dog than the possibility of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named coming back into power. I just hoped he was right.


	22. A New Year

*It's Draco's Birthday! So... New Chapter \(^-^)/*

"Why am I always alone?" I asked myself as I walked through Diagon Alley. Classes were starting soon and I had come here to shop for my supplies. My parents had both had to do something with the Ministry of Magic and weren't able to come with me. They had suggested Bonny come do the shopping for me but it was an excuse to get out of the house so I came alone. I wandered over to the window of a quill shop nearby when I heard a familiar voice call out to me

"Why are you just standing out here?" Draco asked as he walked towards me. Alongside him was his father, Lucius Malfoy.

"Hi" I smiled and hugged Draco. "Hello, Mr. Malfoy."

"Miss Volkov" he said with a nod and a polite smile. He was a tall man, with blond hair and blue eyes, who looked a lot like an older version of Draco. Just like his son he was a rather serious person although I didn't know him like I knew Draco. I did however know that, unlike Draco, he was kind to me mainly because of who my father was. They had also been shopping for next year's school supplies as well so we decided to all go to buy the necessary supplies, getting most everything. Unfortunately I didn't have time to go with them to Flourish and Blotts and get our books together. Alla came by shortly after we had arrived in front of the shop, my parents had asked for me. I had to say goodbye to Draco and his father and headed home with her.

It was now 1 September and I began to board the Hogwarts Express. I walked through the corridors waving and smiling at all the familiar faces I passed. I saw Draco sitting in one of them, getting up as he saw me. He started walking towards me, smiling, but stopped abruptly when he saw what I had in my arms.

"You brought that _thing_ with you?" he almost yelled as he saw Lev resting comfortably in my grasp. My puppy growled a little at his words but stayed in place

"He's not a _thing_ and yes I brought him with me. He wanted to come along and I would've missed him too." Since Hogwarts rules only allowed us to bring one pet along I had to leave Whiskers behind. I knew that Lev would be too much of a problem at home without me there to control him and, if I ever needed to send a message, I could always borrow Draco's owl. Inside the compartment were Crabbe and Goyle and behind Draco, sitting next to where he had been, was Pansy. Draco gestured for me to sit with them much to Pansy's displeasure. "It looks a little full here, why don't I go find another compartment for me and Lev"

"No stay. Crabbe, Goyle, go." At his command the two large boys stood up but I raised a hand to stop them.

"No it's okay. I'll see you in the common room anyway. Besides do you really want to spend the whole train ride with Lev?" He made a face as he thought of that and I gave him a quick hug as Lev growled at him. I made my way down the corridor before Lev did something he wasn't supposed to. He was a special dog after all. The train started moving and I was still looking for a place to sit. A little ways up I found a compartment with Fred and George in it. We all greeted each other and they sat down together to make space for me.

"How was your summer?" one of them asked, as if they didn't know from all our letters.

"It was good. And yours?"

"Good. So who's this little guy… or girl" asked the other. George I think…

"This is my new puppy," I said with a laugh. "My parents gave him to me about a month ago. His name is Lev." He barked a little at the sound of his name

"He's cute" Fred said and reached out to stroke him but I pulled back before he could

"You don't want to do that" I warned as Lev barked again, this time a little louder.

"He's little, what could he do" said George. I tried to stop him but he pet Lev before I could. As he did Lev let out a loud, almost terrifying bark, and I hoped this time it wouldn't be something really bad. There was a reason that Draco called him a "demon dog". With his bark George was lunged back slightly then collapsed on the floor. Fred ran to the now unconscious George and I sighed as I had seen Lev do a lot worse. I set Lev down on the seat next to me and kneeled next to Fred by George.

"What was that?!" he asked obviously confused about what had happened.

"I told him not to pet him" I sighed and looked back at Lev who was happily resting in his seat. "He used _Stupefy_, I think. He can do that kind of thing"

"But one this strong?" he asked and looked back at his brother worried, realizing that if he were to try to wake him up he'd be in trouble for using magic outside of the school grounds.

"Lev," I said turning back to my dangerous little pup, "wake him up." He didn't look happy at my command and turned up his nose in defiance. "Lev, we're not allowed to use magic until we get to Hogwarts. He's my friend; he's not going to hurt me. Now, use _Rennervate_." He whined a little but barked once more. George gasped and sat up with a start.

"What happened?!" he asked looking confused as Fred hugged him. I sat back in my seat, put Lev safely in my lap, and, once they were seated too, began explaining.

"He's a guard dog. A special kind as you already saw. He has the ability to perform magic to help with his… responsibilities? Is that the right word? That is if he needs to retrieve things or protect his owner or something. Does that make sense?"

"So he thought George was trying to attack you?" Fred asked still a little confused

"Well, no. Lev is _supposed_ to use magic for only those reasons but he uses them on people he doesn't really like. Well he only likes me really, which is why he was having a hard time being sold. Nobody really wants a puppy that would attack them. That and he can be a bit difficult to manage, as you just saw. But I love him" I explained and hugged my little troublemaker

"I see" they both said leaning in towards Lev like two curious kids at a wild animal exhibit. Lev growled and they both quickly leaned back. I felt a little bad but I had to laugh, it was too funny. They joined me, their laughs sounding a little more nervous than mine. For the rest of the way we talked about random things but one thing was certain, both had reached an agreement. Fred and George would stay at least ten feet away from Lev until they found a way to protect themselves from my little pup


	23. Sorting Again

When we arrived at Hogwarts there was no sign of Ron or Harry. Fred and George had told me their brother hadn't made it through in time and I could tell they were worried, even if they were trying to hide it. Soon we separated, having to go to our own houses for the opening ceremony. Our stuff had been taken into our rooms and I told Lev to be nice as I left him behind. All these things brought back memories of my first year, both good and bad. First years piled into the Great Hall looking scared and excited at the same time. It was easy to recognize Ginny among them with her trademark Weasley hair.

"Great, there's more of them. Like we need any more red headed beggars around" I heard Pansy complain to which Draco snickered. She was sitting on his side, I was on the other. It was apparent she still had a crush on him and looked pleased to have made him chuckle. I would have stopped him but she would have taken that personally so I didn't.

One by one the first years were placed into their new houses. We welcomed the new Slytherins to our house and they all seemed as stuck up as the last. I tried not to judge them on that as first impressions weren't always the best and welcomed them warmly anyway. "Weasley, Ginevra" called Professor McGonagall as the little red head made her way up

"A hand-me-down robe, _shocking_" said Pansy sarcastically making Slytherins around us laugh

"GRYFFINDOR" yelled the Sorting Hat from the front and I saw she looked relieved. Fred and George happily welcomed their sister and I cheered a little too, happy that she was with her family. A few other Slytherins did too but their cheers were mocking, relieved she wasn't accepted in our house.

The feast began and we all started digging in when Professor Snape walked into the Great Hall. He looked happy which was strange. Like most other people in Slytherin he seemed to only smile when someone he didn't like was hurt or in trouble. _Maybe he has Harry?_ He went straight to Professor McGonagall and told her something in a hushed manner. Whatever he told her upset her; she made her way out of the Great Hall, fast. Snape went to tell Dumbledore something too who now looked deadly serious. He stood and he, along with Professor Snape, left the same way as Professor McGonagall had.

"I wonder why Professor Snape looks so happy" Daphne commented in front of me. I had an idea but just shrugged. I looked over to the Gryffindor table to see Hermione sitting next to Neville, and Fred and George who were happily talking to Ginny obviously trying to distract her from Ron's absence.

"You know if you love those Gryffindors so much I'm sure Dumbledore would let you switch to their house. If you asked nicely, of course" Pansy said with a nasty smile. She was really starting to annoy me. I didn't wish for enemies but if I were to name one it'd be her. I was sick and tired of her behavior and if she insisted in acting like this then I would too. I sighed and smiled at her

"Pansy, you talk as if I care what you have to say"

A lot of those sitting around us went wide eyed or stopped eating from shock. I had forgotten not many of them knew that I could be as rude as the rest of them. Draco was the only one not affected. He'd met me before I started acting nice so this wasn't as surprising for him. But even Daphne, who had heard me talk bad about Pansy, looked shocked. I didn't think it was that rude of a comment so I kept eating and eventually everyone else did too. Pansy didn't say a word to me all through our meal. Later, our prefects guided us to our common room down in the dungeon. Everything looked the same in the common room, just as it had last year.

"So what do you think happened to Potter?" someone finally asked what everyone was thinking

"Rumor is he brought a flying car into school with that Weasley kid" said a fifth year by the door.

Others started saying things like "That's dumb" "What an idiot" "Why does he get everything?" and "Not fair". Next to me Draco was making a face to which I smiled. Although I was still unsure as to why Draco hated Harry so much I found it funny. Either way I wished him a goodnight, deciding I should go up to check on Lev. When I got up to my room he greeted me with a warm puppy hug. I picked him up and walked over to my bed and sat both of us down. I reached to grab a brush for Lev's fur and began thinking about what I had said to Pansy. _Maybe I should apologize, she isn't that bad…_

"Oh look now we have two dogs staying here" Pansy said as she and Millicent walked in. _Then again maybe she is that bad._ I ignored her and kept brushing my puppy's long soft hair. It felt nice and it made it look shiny silver when brushed. "What are you deaf _and_ stupid now?" Millicent laughed and I had to hold Lev tighter so he wouldn't do anything. It was people like Pansy that made it hard for me to act nice. Daphne walked into the room making them walk to their side of the room to whisper

"They weren't too bad were they? I came here as soon as I saw they weren't in the common room anymore." Daphne said quietly, looking over at them

"No more than usual" I replied with a smile. "This is Lev by the way." I grabbed his paw and began mimicking a wave. She said he was cute and tried to pet him but he growled. Daphne pulled back as I had already warned her about his behavior before we came up here.

"Maybe he only likes other dogs" commented Pansy from her side of the room. I ignored her again and tapped Lev on the nose as a warning so he wouldn't do anything. "What's wrong got nothing more to say to me?" She sat on her bed, arms crossed, staring at us; Millicent right next to her like a bodyguard.

"Pansy" Daphne said in a threatening tone but I put my hand on her stopping her. Being focused on Daphne, Lev jumped out of my arms and in front of Pansy, snarling at her and Millicent.

"Your pets are a little rabid aren't they? Then again with their owner being as pathetic as you-" Pansy didn't have time to finish her sentence. With a bark Lev made Pansy's bed throw her and Millicent off and hard against the ground. "Get that _thing_ away from me!" she yelled at us looking for something to throw. I sat there, frozen with anger. It was one thing when Draco said that but I was _not_ going to allow Pansy to speak to Lev like that. He was a better person than she could ever hope to be. I tried my hardest to be nice but if she was going to be like this then I had no choice

"Lev is a little mean but he's nicer to people he's around more, like Draco." I smirked as I saw Pansy's smug face start to fade. "He visited me _a lot_ in the summer, you know. Lev was mean to him to at first but seeing as he was around _so much_ he eventually became more, well behaved."

"I don't believe you" Pansy said but I knew she did

"You can ask him if you want I'm sure he's still down in the common room. He likes it there. Last year we would sit there and talk _for hours_. Once we stayed there until morning." She looked like she wanted to hit me which I found amusing. She stepped towards me but Lev growled and she stepped back. For a puppy he was scary. Pansy gave me one last hateful look before storming out of the room.

"Wow" Daphne said when they were gone. I smiled at her shocked expression. "Since when can you do that and can you do it more often?"

"I treat people how they treat me. You're nice to me so I'm nice to you. She was mean so I was mean" I said simply and shrugged

"So you and Draco stayed up all night… I thought you were 'just friends'" she said suspiciously

"We are. I just know how much Pansy hates it when I'm with him, for whatever reason, which is why I told her that. I still don't get why she hates that I'm so close to him but whatever. And it was last year, when I was waiting for him to come back from detention; he got back really early in the morning so technically it was true"

"Well maybe now she'll leave you alone" Daphne said encouragingly. _That or she'll hate me more _I thought and smiled at her sadly. _Well if she pushed me too far maybe Lev could help _and he gave a happy bark as if he could read my thoughts.


	24. The New Seeker

Classes started and school was just as it had been last year. The lessons were harder but I liked that I learned so much. In transfigurations we had to turn a beetle into a button and I managed to do it on my third try. Draco had a little bit more trouble, mostly because he was too impatient. Another thing that had changed since last year was our Quidditch team. Draco had joined the Slytherin team and gotten the place of Seeker.

"I thought you said Quidditch was nothing special" I told Draco one Saturday morning as we walked to the Quidditch Pitch with my puppy right behind us. They had practice today and Lev and I were going to watch.

"Well I'm an excellent flier so why not help the team." I wasn't sure what brought on the sudden change of heart but I was happy for him. He needed to be more social; he always had trouble with the way he spoke to people. Maybe this would get him out of his shell. Hopefully in a good way

We walked a little further and Draco joined the rest of the team in the locker rooms while Lev and I walked over to the field. The Gryffindor team was on the ground, probably having just finished their own practice. They all looked tired. They'd been practicing really hard lately as their captain wanted to avoid another loss like last year's. I turned to see the Slytherin team walking out in their uniforms nodding or smiling politely when they saw me but didn't really greet me. All of them had with them a new _Nimbus Two Thousand and One _courtesy of Mr. Malfoy.

I started to walk up to one of the stands as the Slytherins got on their brooms and began practice. Once I was up there I had a much better view of the team. They were all flying incredibly fast but I could still tell which one Draco was. He was the smallest and his blond hair reflected off the sun making it brighter. I thought he had looked adorable in his uniform and I had even told him so a few times. Out of the corner of my eye I saw a flash of red. I turned to see Fred and George, still in their scarlet and gold uniforms, watching and ducking so they wouldn't be seen.

"Hey" I said with a smile as I made my way towards them with Lev right behind me

"Hi…" they said quietly looking sheepish. Their faces turned to cautious ones as they saw my little pup walking alongside me.

"Whatcha doing?" I leaned forward to look at Draco so it wouldn't be too obvious that they were here. Lev growled at them and came to sit next to where I stood

"Nothing…" they said at the same time. Of course I didn't believe that. I could guess what they were doing but I didn't want them to get caught so I didn't say anything. My house team cheated a lot so why should I stop them from just looking. It would have been hypocritical of me. I held Lev up so he could get a better look and we all watched as the Slytherin Quidditch team rushed around. With their shiny new brooms they looked like smudges in the sky.

"They look like blurs!" Fred finally said. It was true, compared to what I had seen of the Gryffindor's practice, Slytherins were by far faster. Fred and George began whisper about how they were faster than they had expected when I saw Draco start flying towards us

"Duck!" I carefully slipped in front of them, hopefully covering them enough so that Draco wouldn't see. He stopped a little ahead of us. "How's practice so far?"

"Fine" Draco answered and started to suspiciously look around. I feel like he would've come closer if it hadn't been for Lev, who was barking at him

"What is it?" I asked as if I didn't know what he was looking for

"I thought I saw something… red. Did you see it?" I could tell by his face he was sure he had seen something so I didn't lie. Well I did, but not about not seeing red

"Oh, uh, yeah. I was practicing that new spell I found that changes colors of things: _Multicorfors_. Remember I saw it in that book I read over the summer. It was supposed to be pink but it keeps coming out red or orange" I said in case he'd seen their hair too.

"Oh" he said not sure if he should believe my lie. He looked around still suspicious. "Well are you sure you-"

"Malfoy! Come on!" yelled Marcus Flint, the Slytherin Quidditch captain and Lev barked as if agreeing Draco should go back.

"Coming!" he said and smiled before leaving and accepting my lie

"You're good at that" "A little too good" Fred and George said and gave me fake suspicious looks and stroked their chins. I smiled and buried my face in Lev's fur trying to hold back a laugh. We kept watching the Slytherin team practice surprised as to how fast they were actually going. "How are we gonna beat them if they're this fast!"

"Do you want me to help?" They looked intrigued and nodded hastily. "Well…" I said and they leaned in closer, "Draco isn't a very good seeker"

"That's it? Even if he's terrible he'll be fast enough to beat us" they complained expecting more

"No, you don't get it. He's too easily distracted"

"What does that have to do with anything?" Fred asked still not understanding

"How is it that you get such good grades if you don't think?" I said shaking my head "Seekers need to be focused _all the time_. The Golden Snitch is so small and so fast the slightest distraction could erase it completely from sight. So even if he were the fastest boy in the world he'd be too late to see it and Gryffindor could catch it before we did."

"So all we have to do is find a way to distract him…." George said thinking hard

"You're not serious are you?" I asked and was answered with blank stares. "Honestly, how are you doing so well in school? Use Harry obviously. For whatever reason Draco hates Harry and if you use him he'll be too busy with _him_ to look for _the Snitch_."

"Right so all we have to do is tell Harry-"

"No don't tell him!" I almost yelled. We went quiet and waited to see if I had caught the attention of any of the Slytherins. We hadn't so I looked over at the twins who still looked confused

"Why can't we tell him? What now?"

"Do I have to tell you everything?" I let out a huge sigh and looked over at Draco who was practicing diving for the Snitch. "If you tell Harry he'll be focused on that and not on the Snitch. Tell your captain-Oliver is it?-Tell him and have him make Harry only focus on the Snitch. That's what he did last year, right? If he is then he will be open to be criticized by Draco who will be distracted while Harry is completely focused." I said this all slowly so they could understand me clearly. There was a pause.

"That's bloody brilliant!" Fred yelled. George covered Fred's mouth and we all focused to see if we had caught anyone's attention. Two of the players turned around, I waved, Lev barked at them, and they went back to practice. We sighed with relief and decided we should probably whisper from now on. "How did we not think of that? Brilliant!"

"You're secretly an evil genius you know" George commented and I smiled. I kept watching as Fred and George excitedly talked about their new Quidditch plans. I should probably feel bad that I was helping our rival house win but they didn't have the latest model brooms as an advantage. Besides, if Draco didn't spend all his time putting people down this plan would've been useless


	25. The Chamber is Opened

**I finished this chapter early so here you go ^-^**

.

On the night of the Halloween feast I walked with Draco to find our seats. We had made it a habit to all sit together for meals; me next to Draco, Pansy on the other side of him, Millicent next to her, Daphne in front of me, and Crabbe and Goyle in front of them. I wasn't sure when that seating arrangement had become absolute but it had. Hermione wasn't in the Great Hall that night. She along with Harry and Ron had been invited to a Deathday Party for Sir Nicholas' ghost. She had been very excited probably since it wasn't often that humans were invited to a ghostly celebration. The feast had been delicious of course. Our gamekeeper, Hagrid, had been able to grow big pumpkins both for decoration and for our feast.

It ended soon enough and all of us piled down the corridor feeling satisfaction in our stomachs. Professor Snape had allowed me to look over some ingredients he had in his store room on the first floor so I could familiarize myself with them for some potions I had read about. I couldn't take any of course but I appreciated that he had so much trust in me. Draco and the rest of our dinner group had decided to come with as there was still time before we had to return to the dungeon. It wasn't so bad there, it was actually quite nice, but sometimes it felt nice to be above ground. Some of the other house students were behind us, probably heading to their own common rooms, not really caring that we were here. We all talked and laughed as we walked through the corridor but were instantly silenced by the scene in front

_THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS HAS BEEN OPENED_

_ENEMIES OF THE HEIR, BEWARE_

The sign was clear as day and so was Mrs. Norris who was hanging from a torch bracket next to it, unmoving. In the middle of the scene stood Ron, Harry, and Hermione, looking at each other worried. They couldn't have possibly done this although it was clear from the silence around me that others thought they had. I knew about the chamber, it was just another reason why my parents tried to hide our relation to Salazar Slytherin. Hermione was muggle-born, if she had done this she would only have been dooming herself. No, I was sure they weren't at fault, just at the wrong place at the wrong time

"Enemies of the Heir, beware! You'll be next Mudbloods!" Draco yelled from the front. I had been so distracted by what I had seen that I hadn't noticed he had pushed his way to the front. Mr. Filch came shortly after that looking incredibly upset. He began threatening Harry, thinking he was to blame just as the others did. Professor Dumbledore showed up and took Mrs. Norris off the torch bracket, telling Mr. Filch, Harry, Ron, and Hermione to all go with him. Everyone was quiet as we let them through. I caught eyes with Hermione for a second and gave her a weak smile before heading down to the Slytherin common room.

"…_soo hungry…"_ I heard the voice say again from the walls. I had been hearing it more lately and had been trying to convince myself it was nothing. That maybe it had just been my imagination. But then again, with the most recent event at hand, I forced myself to ask

"Do you think the chamber is truly opened?" I asked looking round at our little group. Just the same as it was in the Great Hall we sat together in the common room from time to time.

"It's just a myth, genius. It's not real" Pansy said as if I were a child who believed in fairytales. Millicent next to her laughed, probably just to make Pansy happy. But I didn't think either of them understood the seriousness of the situation we would have if it were real.

"Of course it's real. My father told me so himself" Draco said with a smile as Pansy tried to pretend she hadn't just called it fake. Around him people looked over curiously. "And if the chamber is open again then the monster could have easily been unleashed. Maybe that's what killed the stupid cat"

"I hope it is a myth..." I said quietly to myself, having heard what had happened the last time it was opened. Rumors started to spread fast about the night before and who everyone thought had done it. I heard some say Harry but there were others who believed Draco was to blame. I didn't believe he was but his behavior and attitude made people think otherwise. The rumors went on and remained but I distracted myself, focusing on the Quidditch game between Gryffindor and Slytherin.

This was Draco's first game and I concentrated on cheering for him to keep my mind off the chamber. I had brought Lev too, who looked happy to be able to bark as loud as he wanted and not be hushed; with all the noise coming from the other students I could barely hear him. From the stands I saw Fred and George give me a thumbs up as they made their way into the field. It seemed as if they had set the plan I had suggested. Just like I had expected I saw Draco taunting Harry for most all of the game. If he hadn't been so focused on mocking Harry then the plan I had given the twins wouldn't have worked. It was his own fault if he lost from it.

Unfortunately for Draco, Harry had other things to worry about than a few nasty words from him. A Bludger kept making its way towards Harry and only Harry all through the game. George and Fred skillfully sent it away multiple times but it changed mid-course and made its way back to Harry each time. It started to rain and it looked like Slytherin was going to win this one. A time out was called by the Gryffindor captain and they all huddled together deciding their next move. _What is going on? _Slytherins looked smug but I didn't believe they had tampered the ball. They didn't need to. The game started again

Draco was, once again, too distracted with Harry to even look for the Golden Snitch. He wouldn't have even had to look very far since the Snitch was right by him. Harry on the other hand did see it and even with the broken arm he got from the Bludger he chased after it. Harry caught it and passed out on the ground. I rushed down to the field, but for Draco. I knew how much he hated loosing and I wanted to see if he was okay. I got to the field to see many people standing around Harry, trying to wake him and fix his broken arm. On the other side, Slytherin looked furious, and the captain, Filch, was yelling at Draco for it.

"Do you realize you just cost us the game?! All you had to do was catch the Snitch! Your broom is better and faster than Potter's! Are you that useless that you can't even catch a stupid gold ball?!" He stopped screaming when he saw me but still looked angry. "Better do it right next time" he muttered last before turning away from him.

"It was your fault, you know" I said as Flint walked away

"Shut up!" he said in an angry tone of voice and I sighed. _Oh good he is okay_ I thought and smiled at him. He was always a rude little thing and it was when he wasn't that I began to worry. Besides, he was never really mad at me

"Come on" I said linking our arms together. He looked tired and beaten and it probably wasn't much help to see the Gryffindor team so happy. I walked with him and Lev back towards our common room without giving him time to change out of his uniform. The whole time I tried to distract him and tried to cheer him up. "You look cute in your uniform, you know"

"Shut up!" he said again but this time not angry and with slight laugh. I ruffled his hair, which I knew he hated, and we kept towards the Slytherin common room


	26. Out of Order

"You don't have to stay with me, you know. I've spent Christmas alone before, you should go with your family" I'd told Draco as he signed himself up to stay at Hogwarts over winter break. My parents had sent me a letter telling me they would be busy during the break and would not have time to be with me. Not that I wasn't used to that but since given the choice I decided to stay.

"Don't be stupid. Like I'm leaving you alone on Christmas" he had told me. Draco's father had said he would be busy too so Draco chosen to keep me company. Because of all that was happening in Hogwarts and the possibility of the Chamber being opened Mr. Malfoy had taken this as an opportunity to make things "better" from within the Board of Governors. I wasn't sure what he had meant by that but just hoped it wouldn't be anything that would harm anyone.

Next Potions I began to grow bored. I found the class to be very easy because, besides the fact that I read potion books for fun, Professor Snape was very lenient towards us Slytherins so we didn't need to try as hard. Having finished my potion for the day, and not wanting to start another, I began looking around the room. Draco was misbehaving as usual from his seat by Crabbe and Goyle. I started walking around the room to distract myself since I knew Professor Snape wouldn't mind. As I did I saw Harry looking around and before I knew it saw he threw something into Goyle's cauldron. It exploded, showering anyone near with the Swelling Solution.

The students shrieked and panicked as the solution made them swell up. Professor Snape tried to restore composure to his class and I turned back to Harry. I noticed the seat by him, which was normally occupied by Hermione, was now empty. _But she was just here_ I thought as I looked around but didn't find her among the screaming students.

"Silence! SILENCE!" Professor Snape roared. He instructed anyone who had been splashed by the potion to go with him to be taken care of. Draco pushed his way to the front of the line. Thanks to my inability to stay in one place for a long time I was able to avoid the potion. In the midst of the chaos and confusion I saw Hermione slipping back into the classroom with something underneath her robe. She had come from Professor Snape's office. Hermione made her way towards Ron and Harry and now I was even more dazed.

It seemed unlike Harry to do what he did but it was even more shocking that Hermione would do anything that broke any rules. At the end of class Harry, Ron, and Hermione went quickly up the stairs. I was curious as to what would make Hermione do something so out of character so I decided to follow them. I said goodbye to Draco telling him that I needed to go upstairs for something. They made their way up to the first floor and I saw them all go into the girl's lavatory; one that nobody used. Slowly, I made my way to it and opened the door. Immediately I heard their voices

"Snape can't prove it was you. What can he do" Ron told Harry

"Knowing Snape, something foul" Harry replied. They turned around but stopped suddenly when they saw me.

"Katerina!" Hermione said. "What are you doing here?"

"I could ask you the same thing. What are you doing in here? In the _girl's_ lavatory." I said turning to Harry and Ron. "And why did you throw that firework?"

"What are you talking about?" Harry replied in an unconvincing tone

"I saw you throw it, Harry. What are you doing?"

"Nothing" Ron said and stepped in front of one of the cubicles, inside of it I saw a cauldron. Hermione saw me see it and came up to me.

"It's not what it looks like"

"Well it looks like you're making a potion that needed ingredients only Professor Snape would have so you caused a distraction, snuck into his office, and stole them to make whatever potion is in that cauldron there and you did it all here because you knew no one would want to come in because of Moaning Myrtle. No offense Myrtle" I added in case she heard me. They looked surprised that I had put it all together. That or they were surprised by how I managed to make all of that one sentence. Either way they didn't deny it

"Alright so it is what it looks like. Please don't tell anyone" Hermione said

"Why are you asking her? Of course she's going to tell, she's a _Slytherin_" Ron said giving me an untrusting look

"What potion are you making anyway?" I asked ignoring Ron

"It's a pol-"

"Hermione!" Harry warned obviously not trusting me either

"She already saw what we were doing anyway and I trust her okay!" Both Harry and Ron grew quiet. "We're making a polyjuice potion." I didn't have to ask about that; I'd read about polyjuice potions before. It had been in the book my Aunt Sacha had given to me last year. But that still left one question

"Who are you trying to turn into?" I asked. The boys looked surprised that I knew what it was but Hermione didn't. She did however look reluctant to tell me but finally did. They were curious about the Chamber of Secrets and suspected one of the Slytherins was responsible. They wanted to ask around in the Slytherin common room to see if anyone knew anything. They didn't say it but I knew they meant Draco, a lot of people suspected him.

I knew some things they didn't about the Chamber of Secrets but didn't mention it because that would only have made me look suspicious. No need to tell them I was related to the original founder of Slytherin either. I did want to tell them it was dangerous but knew they would ignore me regardless so I didn't. Gryffindors had the habit of doing risky things for others, regardless of the danger they were putting themselves in. So, I promised not to tell anyone, and I left them to finish their work.


	27. Anger

I went back to the Slytherin common room thoughtful about those three Gryffindors. It wasn't until I nearly ran into someone that I realized something was happening. Inside some students were standing, all facing a corner of the room. Curious as I've always been I made my way in to see what it was that was causing such a scene. I stood in shock as I, along with several others, watched as Lev growled at some second and third year girls, forcing them against the wall. In the front was Pansy.

"Don't just stand there!" she yelled when she saw me. "Control this monster, you idiot"

"What did you do?" I demanded rushing towards my puppy. Lev was a little rough but he never attacked without reason.

"Nothing! I walked into _my_ room and this stupid _thing_ started chasing me out!" she said with a slight stutter in her voice

"Don't lie! And don't call him stupid, he's smarter than you could ever hope to be!" I yelled back and walked forward to pick up my puppy. He was shaking slightly and only relaxed when I hugged him. He was scared. "What did you do?"

"L-look just get that thing away from us" said Millicent behind Pansy sounding scared. Some of the students watching found it funny that such seemingly tough girls were scared of a little puppy dog. But to me nothing about this was amusing. They had done something to Lev otherwise he wouldn't have disobeyed me and gone after them. I looked down at Lev to see a small patch of hair gone from the side of his face, just under his ear. _They didn't!_

"Did you try to hex him?" I asked not looking up

"Wha-what? Why would we possibly-"

"_Did_ _you_ _try_ _to_ _hex_ _Lev_?" I repeated in a louder and more serious voice interrupting her bad lying. Some of the girls who had stepped forward after I grabbed Lev had now stepped back again. They looked unsure of what to do, or which side was safest, with me or with Pansy. I set my puppy down on a seat near me and walked over to the girls. I stopped right in front of them and pointed my wand straight at Pansy. She leaned back but tried to maintain her composure

"Katerina?" I heard Draco say behind me but didn't look back. He came up next to me and I didn't move. "What are you doing?"

"She's crazy! She thinks we tried to hex her stupid dog" Pansy said and I pressed my wand closer to her. From the corner of my eye I saw a couple of our house prefects come near us. We were obviously causing a scene with all our yelling and had come to see what was happening. Still I didn't budge, I was too angry to care about any trouble I could possibly get into

"Katerina put your wand down" Draco said cautiously, warning me; he had seen them too. I kept my place and slowly pressed the wand closer against her skin. "Kitty!" he said not wanting me to get in trouble. Since this was the first time he had called me that in years I turned to look at him. He had a serious look on his face but I could tell underneath that he was worried. He kept looking over at what were now three prefects who were holding their wands probably in case I decided to act on Pansy. I sighed and looked back at the girls

"If you _ever_ go near my dog again, I don't care if I get expelled, I will _hurt_ you" my voice was deadly serious. I put my wand down and headed towards my room turning back only to make sure that Lev followed. I heard Draco sigh with relief.

That night Pansy didn't bother me. She didn't even come near me for the following week. She even went as far as to sit away from Draco at our table during meals. This would've made me happy if I wasn't so irritated with her. Fred and George had noticed I was upset and asked what had happened

"Did you get in a fight with that Malfoy boy again?" George asked after dinner one evening

"No, it's Pansy" I said and explained what had happened in our common room just a few nights before. They looked surprised at first but then began to laugh.

"You should've hexed her!" Fred said in between laughs

"N-no. Just put stink pellets in her bed" George said shaking from his suppressed laughter. "We could help you if want"

"You would do that?" I asked looking at the two happy twins. Not that I wanted them to, it just took me by surprise that they would be willing to do something like this for me. Then again if they were to do something I wouldn't oppose it… I shook my head trying to get the idea out of my head. I had to remember to stay out of trouble, for my parents… "No, thank you. I wouldn't want you two to get in trouble for me like that"

"We don't mind" they said and gave me an even bigger smile. "Besides this side of you is fun"

"What?" I asked confused as to what they meant

"You know this whole dark side of you that comes out every once in a while-"

"That comes up with evil plans and fun prank" George said finishing Fred's sentence. I laughed; I liked that I could tell them things and let them see that "dark" side of me without fear of them judging me. But rather they felt closer to me for it. Still I shook my head. Pansy wasn't worth all that trouble

Days passed and later that week an announcement was posted that caught everyone's attention. Students of all houses and years looked with bright eyes at the piece of parchment. There was a Duelling Club being started at the school. A lot of the kids looking at the announcement looked really excited about it. Seeing as this sort of thing could come in handy Draco and I decided to go to the first meeting. That night, at exactly eight o'clock, we arrived at the Great Hall wands ready and excited to start our first lesson


	28. Duelling Club

"Gather round, gather round!" Professor Lockhart said starting the meeting. Professor Dumbledore had allowed him to start this duelling club and he looked very happy to have the opportunity to make himself look good. He was an okay teacher but he thought too highly of himself. A lot of the girls seemed to really like him but I didn't get it, he seemed old to me. Teaching alongside him was Professor Snape who looked happy too but probably for a different reason. They began the lesson with a demonstration; each bowed and raised their wands in front of them like swords.

"_Expelliarmus!" _Professor Snape cried and with a flash of scarlet Professor Lockhart was thrown against a wall. Some of the Slytherins cheered for our Professor and I clapped along with them. Professor Snape was obviously a talented wizard and I'm sure Professor Lockhart must have gone through worse; if his books were telling the truth that is. For some reason, he didn't seem like the kind to be able to do half the things he's said he's done. _More like any of them actually_ I thought to myself as our instructors began separating people into groups of two for sparring. I was expecting to be paired up with Draco but apparently Professor Snape had other plans.

"I'd wish you luck but I'm sure neither of us needs it" Draco told me smirking before happily walking over to Harry. I smiled and waved at him as he closed the space between him and his opponent. To the side of them I saw Hermione had been paired with Millicent. I gave her a small smile and hoped she'd be okay; Millicent wasn't very smart but she made up for it by being tough. _Kind of like Crabbe and Goyle…_

"Ah, Miss Volkov," Professor Lockhart said with his dazzling smile. "Who shall you be paired up with… let's see..." He looked around the room at those who were still without partners then stopped when he spotted a Ravenclaw girl who looked about my size "How about-"

"Um, excuse me, Professor Lockhart. Would it be alright if I chose for myself?" I asked with a warm smile. He looked reluctant but I pushed the subject. "I just really wanted to be with a certain person from my house. I think we'd make a good team" I said giving him another innocent looking smile. Thankfully it had helped a little and distracted him from my ulterior motive.

"Very well, who did you have in mind?"

"Pansy Parkinson, sir," I said and she turned around to the sound of her name. I smiled warmly at her and she looked confused but suspicious.

"Well alright, Miss Parkinson would you join us for a second. Yes thank you. Why don't you come be partners with Miss Volkov?" Pansy was now standing in front of me wide eyed as I continued to try to look innocent. I'm sure she would have argued if Lockhart had given her the chance but he imagined her reluctance to be for another reason. "Come, come, no need to be shy. We're all friends here. Good, there, now if you'll excuse me I must begin the course" he said and ran off towards the platform. Pansy continued to look at me suspiciously and I simply smiled_._

"Face your partners!" Professor Lockhart called from the platform. "And bow!"

Pansy only bowed slightly in front of me not trusting to take her eyes off of me. I curtsied in response and watched her frown deepen. _No prefects to defend you now are there _

"One… two… three-"

Too late, both Pansy and I had started at two. She sent a spell my way making me trip and fall hard. Not waiting to get up I launched my own spell from the ground.

"_Ventus!_" From the tip of my wand came a jet spiral of wind throwing Pansy against the wall behind her. She staggered back up as I made my way through the sea of students duelling and towards her.

"_Expelliarmus!"_ she said pointing her wand towards me. I was knocked off my feet but it wasn't powerful enough to disarm me. Either way it was annoying. "Ready to give up?" she said looking down at me as I struggled to get up.

"I'm ready to stop taking it easy on you" I said and she looked confused and a bit frightened but was trying to not let it show. Before she could reply I got up and pointed my wand to the candles above our heads. "_Oppugno!" _On my command some of the candles began to float towards Pansy. She stood stunned for a second but jumped out of the way just in time and they slammed against the wall.

"I said disarm only!" I heard Professor Lockhart yell as the candles rose from where they had fallen and started towards Pansy again. But before they could reach her Professor Snape stopped everyone.

"_Finite Incantatem!_" he shouted and a haze of green smoke covered the seen. All magic seized and the candles I had jinxed flew back up to their rightful place. Both Pansy and I were breathing hard.

As our professors got everyone settled down they decided to change the lesson and instead demonstrate how to block an unfriendly spell. Noticing Professor Snape's look, Professor Lockhart chose to get student volunteers. Professor Snape volunteered Harry and Draco. I went to stand next to Daphne, who didn't look nearly as tired as I was, to watch. They went to the middle of the hall as we all backed away to watch. Professor Lockhart tried to show Harry how to block while Snape began whispered something in Draco's ear. He smiled. They began and I couldn't stop myself from screaming as I saw a snake fly out of the tip of his wand.

"What's wrong?" Daphne asked next to me sounding worried but I couldn't talk. I was terrified of snakes. Pictures and plushies were fine but as soon as I saw a real one I went cold and I couldn't control it.

"Leave him alone!" I heard Harry yell at the snake which stopped moving. But something was strange about his voice, it sounded… off. It wasn't until I saw the terrified faces of my classmates that I noticed what was wrong

"What do you think you're playing at!" shouted a Hufflepuff boy before storming out of the room. Everyone started muttering against the walls and Ron tugged on Harry's robes taking him out of the Great Hall. Everyone backed away as they left not wanting to touch him. This event only confirmed people's suspicions that Harry was the Slytherin heir. Harry was a parselmouth too.


	29. The Heir of Slytherin

That night it snowed. I sat cold, huddled up with Lev by the fireplace in our common room. I absentmindedly stroked Lev's fur as I thought about Harry and the snake in the duelling club. Everyone thought he had been pushing the snake to attack the Hufflepuff kid, Justin I had found out, but he hadn't been. I was the only one who had been able to understand what he had really been saying. The sad thing was that I couldn't tell anyone because if I did everyone would know I could speak parseltongue too. I sighed frustrated and drank from my hot chocolate.

"Hey" Draco said walking towards me. He was wearing the green jumper I had made him for Christmas the year before. It helped me smile a little

"Hi" I said and he sat down next to me in front of the fireplace.

"Sorry if I scared you yesterday, I know how much you hate snakes" his voice was hushed so others wouldn't hear. It probably wouldn't help me to have someone, especially a certain roommate of mine, find out about this

"It's okay I know you didn't mean to scare me." On my lap, Lev was sleeping peacefully. I was happy to see him so relaxed; after the incident with Pansy he had been a little jumpy

"But I bet you had fun with Pansy" he smirked. I laughed a little at his comment and drank from my hot chocolate "Getting back to your old habits I see"

"It was just once. She scared Lev so I scared her. I'm very protective of my pup you know" I said giving Lev a quick kiss on the top of his head. Draco looked at me thoughtfully for a second before snapping back

"You don't have to keep acting nice, you know. You're fine being the way you are. In fact, I think you're more fun this way." I smiled at the similarity of his and the twins' words and looked back to the fireplace. I was a lot meaner as a child, kind of like Draco is now, if not worse. But I had decided it was best to be nice, or at least pretend. I had wanted to be good so my parents didn't have to deal with the trouble I caused as they had been dealing with more than enough back then. I became so good at pretending that eventually I started to believe my own lies. Now I naturally act like I used to pretend to be, nice. It's part of me now and only a few people know how I used to be, Draco being one of them.

"You're only saying that so I won't nag you as much" I said nudging him a little as he smiled at me. "It's okay, I like being nice. Just sometimes _certain_ _people_ push me too far." I started rubbing the spot by Lev's ear that Pansy had hurt. I just hoped she'd learned her lesson. Trying to distract myself from Pansy, I turned to Draco. The jumper I had made him was starting to look a little smaller, probably because he'd grown. It was also a duller shade of green than I remembered but it still looked nice. He caught me staring.

"What?" he demanded. I pulled at the fabric of his jumper and smiled at him teasingly. He made a face and we both went back to staring at the fire. It was nice to have it here to warm us up; the dungeons could get pretty cold sometimes...

Peace didn't last long at Hogwarts, as if it ever did. Soon there was another attack. Apparently this time it was Justin, that boy who was almost attacked by the snake in the duelling club. It made sense why people would think it was Harry that did it. I could've told themit wasn't him but that would've only made me look suspicious. It was really getting to me that I couldn't tell anyone what I knew. My parents had forbidden me to tell anyone about my "gift." If I told the wrong person our family could be in serious trouble. It would automatically be assumed we had a connection to He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named and if they did enough digging around they would find one. We would be sent to Azkaban. That is why I could never tell anyone, not even Draco. It's not as if it was our fault we shared an ancestor, Salazar Slytherin.

Thankfully no one suspected me of anything. Everyone was so sure that Harry was the Slytherin Heir they didn't consider anyone else a possibility. Well, there was one more suspect. Draco had been acting so outraged by Harry's new title that he only made himself look questionable. While I had spent my time worrying, Draco had spent his complaining.

"Why would that pathetic wimp be the Slytherin Heir? He's a Gryffindor for crying out loud! It's maddening!" he practically screamed one day during lunch.

"Do you know who it is, Draco?" asked Pansy batting her eyelashes. In front of me, Daphne made a gagging noise. I giggled but Pansy ignored us. She was leaning in to Draco intently, as were Crabbe and Goyle.

"No I don't... I don't know who it is. But I sure do know it isn't him!" I agreed with Draco but of course for different reasons. Many people were scared of Harry because if these rumors. Some Slytherin, those who weren't purebloods, stopped mocking Harry all together; most just rushed away whenever he came near. It was sad. Thankfully not everyone believed the ridiculous story. Fred and George were a great example of that

"Make way for the Heir of Slytherin, seriously evil wizard coming through..." They yelled down the corridors as Harry walked by. I laughed and Fred winked at me before going on ahead. The whole time Draco became more and more bothered by these rumors as he believed the heir would be someone of a good family background. Someone like him. This only made him more suspicious to those who didn't believe Harry was the heir

Thankfully, it was almost Christmas. It was a nice distraction from everything that was going on at Hogwarts. Many of the students had decided to leave for the holidays. Most all Slytherins had left except for a handful of students, Crabbe, Goyle, Draco and me. All my roommates had gone home, leaving just me and Lev by ourselves. Daphne and I had exchanged gifts before she left and I was waiting impatiently until I could do the same with the others. I had gotten Fred, George and Hermione each a gift and had planned something special for Draco. Hopefully this would take their minds off the Heir of Slytherin.


	30. Update!

Hi :) Please read this okay

I just wanted to take the time to let you guys know what's going on with the story.

First of all, thank you for sticking around this long in the story. I really appreciate it and, well,

*hugs* \(^-^)/

Secondly please keep reviewing so I can know how you all are either liking or disliking it. Maybe I can make some changes, idk.

And thirdly, while it may seem that I don't listen to your suggestions I really do. I may just be saving it for a later chapter. I plot out my chapters before writing them fully and sometimes the ideas don't mix into what I already have written…

Anyway thank you all for reading and I hope you enjoy the new chapter


	31. The Surprise

"Get up! Get up! It's Christmas! Get up!" I told Draco as I shook his bed Christmas morning. He grumbled and turned over a few times but sat up when he realized I wouldn't leave. Crabbe and Goyle were snoring loudly not being bothered in the slightest by the noise.

"What are you even doing here? And what time is it?" he complained rubbing his eyes

"That doesn't matter, it's Christmas, Draco! Merry Christmas!" I said and tackled him with a hug. He went stiff and I saw him blush when I let go. He tried to cover it up by getting out of bed and walking over to his clothes.

"It'll be Christmas all day so why are you here?" he demanded as he got his things. He paused and began to look between me and his clothes, trying to figure out what to do. I giggled a little and turned, sitting on his bed and facing the opposite way. Assuming he wouldn't start dressing himself if I could hear him I started talking

"Because, silly, it is part of my gift. Now before you ask I'm not telling you what part because it's a surprise. And yes I know you hate surprises but you'll like this one. So hurry up and get dressed already," I said and spun back around. With my eyes closed of course.

"Don't do that!" he cried and even though I couldn't see him I could tell he flushed. I couldn't help but laugh again. I got up and keeping my eyes closed I managed to find the door. I found it funny that even through all this Crabbe and Goyle were still sound asleep

"I'll wait for you in the common room, we can open presents there" I said before closing the door behind me

I rushed down the stairs, up some to my room for my present, then back down to the common room. I sat in front of the fireplace smiling at it, waiting for Draco to come down. I was really excited for this Christmas; it reminded me of my younger years at home. Back then my older brother still lived with us, keeping me company at home so it wouldn't be just me and our parents. Nikolai had fallen in love with a muggle and decided to leave the family to be with her. My parents had told others he had died and refused to talk about him, insisting that he was a disgrace to the family and I shouldn't bother with him. That was the reason I had started acting nice; they had enough on their plate with him. I still talked to Nikolai from time to time but it wasn't often; it wasn't a normal thing for a muggle to own an owl after all. My brother had forgotten his hatred for muggles when he met that girl and having been so influenced by him I never understood the why they were so bad. Unlike most purebloods, I didn't grow resentment for them. And if he was happy then I was happy for him.

"I'm here, so what's the big surprise" Draco said as he made his way down the stairs. He was carrying a small and a medium sized box in his hands and came to sit next to me in front of the fire. His eyes looked heavy and he yawned as he settled himself in his seat

"Na-ah, you first" I said and held out my hands for my gift. Slowly, he handed me my gift, looking at me carefully. He had told me once he didn't like giving me presents in person because of how I might react. Personally I thought that was silly.

"It's so cute!" I said pulling an adorable dragon plushie out of the box. It was soft and cuddly and stood on all fours. It was forest green with a silver belly, wings and horns. It had a tag on one of its legs with Draco's signature, so I would remember who it was from. I hugged it to find yet another adorable thing about it. "It lights up too!"

"Thought you'd like it" Draco chuckled next to me. I put my new plushie on my lap and gave him an envelope as my own present. Well, part of it

"Free tutoring lessons…" he said sounding disappointed as I smiled at him. I guessed this would be his reaction. "Thanks…"

"Relax, this isn't your entire gift," I said to his frowning face. "It's only so I wouldn't leave you without anything to open when you gave me your gift"

"Oh yeah, here" he said and handed me the small box.

"Deedee, you didn't have to get me two presents" I said as I unwrapped the gift. This one was much smaller than the other, about the size of my hand. Inside were four small mittens. "Oh"

"They're for your mutt. Figured you'd want him to have a present too," he said and turned his face avoiding my eyes. I put the gifts down and gave him a hug. I didn't understand how Draco could be so cruel to everyone yet so kind to me, going so far as to get a present for a dog he practically hates. I let go and he still wouldn't look at me. "Where is he by the way?"

"I'm pretty sure he's still sleeping"

"_What_?" he said outraged, turning over to me quickly. "You let _him_ sleep?! He has all day to do that but you wake _me_ up!" I laughed at his ability to take the most simple things personally.

"I imagined it would make a better present if he wasn't here barking at you every other minute."

"What could be better than free tutoring lessons" he said sarcastically. I made a face at him and he laughed. "So when are you going to tell me what my gift is?"

"Soon, for now go up and get your winter cloak while I put my stuff away, okay?" He agreed and made his way up the stairs. After getting all our things together we made our way out of the common room. Outside it had stopped snowing but the ground was still fluffy white.

"It's too cold out here" Draco complained breathing into his hands. I linked our arms together and walked the rest of the way to his present. A few feet ahead of us was a thick blanket on the ground with picnic stuff on top of it.

"Surprise!" I said making a big gesture with my arms. I pulled Draco the rest of the way to the blanket and served both of us hot chocolate.

"Your surprise is a picnic… In the snow… Where it's cold…"

"Not _just_ a picnic. I thought we could spend the day together. Doesn't that sound fun? Besides, if you wanted something you could easily just buy it yourself, right?" I said smiling. I wanted him to have a day off from everything. He had been having such a hard time with the Heir of Slytherin and all the rumors going around that I hadn't seen him be actually happy in a rather long time. Longer than I would've liked. "Just you and me, okay?"

"Yeah…" he replied drinking from his cup. It was a short answer but I knew there was a bigger meaning behind it. We spent the rest of the morning doing nothing but spend time together. We had our picnic, played in the snow and, when it got too cold, we spent the rest of the day in the common room. It was a simple gift but I knew he had enjoyed it; he could be himself with me. But unfortunately, and much too soon, it was time for the Christmas dinner.


	32. The Polyjuice Potion

"Merry Christmas you guys!" I said as I met Fred and George outside the Great Hall. Draco had gone ahead with Crabbe and Goyle so that I could give the others their gifts too.

"Kitty!" they said and gave me a hug. I hadn't seen them much the past week so I was glad we had a little time to be together. "Merry Christmas to you too!"

"We got you a present" George said and handed me a flat box, badly wrapped, with an oversized bow on the top.

"We wrapped it ourselves" Fred said and smiled at me. I opened the box carefully, trying not to make much mess. Inside were several colorful cards all tied together with a string. "They're vouchers"

"Sorry we couldn't actually buy you a gift..." George said with a small smile

"Don't be silly, it's great" I said them and hugged them each again. I looked through the vouchers and saw one that particularly caught my eye. "One free prank?"

"On the person of your choice, like, say, that girl you don't like" I laughed at the casualty of their answer. W_ell it's always an option_

"Thank you. And here is your present" I said handing them my own gift. It was only one thing as I had decided to give them a gift they could share. Fred took it from me and they quickly unwrapped it, not being nearly as careful as I had been.

"It's a wooden box?" he asked when they saw what was inside as George started shaking it, trying to see if there was something inside the antique looking thing.

"No. Well yes and no. It closes into a box but-"

"It's a book!" they screamed excitedly as I opened it. I laughed at how easily excited they were and continued to explain the gift.

"It's a journal. It's for your products and projects ideas and all that. This way," I said closing the book back into its box form, "your things will be safe and your mum won't find them"

"Wicked!" they said and they happily took their present in their hands. We made our way into the Great Hall for dinner and I went over to Hermione to give her my last present. For her I had bought a nice owl hair clip, bronze with red gems. She had gotten me a nice quill and we thanked each other before going to our own house tables. Draco was looking disapprovingly at me and Ron was at Hermione. I sat next to the grumpy Slytherin boy and we began dinner.

At our table we all talked about the presents we got from home. Draco kept making snide comments about the new jumper his parents had sent him. My parents had sent me some gifts too but I hadn't bothered to open them yet; they probably hadn't even bought them themselves. Besides, I was having too much fun here. Everyone was singing Christmas carols and enjoying themselves but it wasn't long until I saw Hermione, Ron and Harry looking around suspiciously and getting up to leave.

"Where are you going?" Draco asked before I could leave to follow them

"Umm... Just thought I'd take a walk alone. To clear my head a little" I said, hoping it was enough to convince him. It wasn't.

"We're not finished with our meal" he complained getting up too. "Crabbe, Goyle, go fetch us some deserts"

"No, it's fine, don't worry about it. I'll meet you in the common room soon, okay?" I said and began walking. Unfortunately Draco followed

"Would you at least tell me where you're going" _Great, why does he have to be so snoopy with me?_ Then I remembered last year here. _The decorations!_ I looked up to see they were just as they had been last year and smiled. "Kitty," he said having gotten used to saying it since the night with Pansy.  
I smiled and knowing how he'd react I gave him a hug and kissed him on the cheek. I heard whispers from other Slytherin as I did and I saw him getting red. His face was serious, obviously upset that I had made him blush in front if everyone. And knowing he wouldn't want to draw any more attention to himself because of it I said a quick goodbye to all three of them and headed out the door

I made my way quickly up the stairs and to the first floor girls' lavatory, where I guessed they would be. Just as I expected Hermione was there

"Where are Harry and Ron?" I asked as I saw her looking over the polyjuice potion

"They went to get some hairs from Crabbe and Goyle" she said looking at my face carefully, trying to see how I felt about this. Honestly I looked worried

"You do realize that those two aren't exactly little" I said and she laughed

"Yeah, I put in some Sleeping Draught in two chocolate cakes for them" I nodded knowing that would get them. They liked sweets

"Well, hopefully it goes well. Be careful," I warned as I said goodbye and headed to the common room, in case I could help from there. Neither Draco, Crabbe nor Goyle had arrived yet and I sat in one of the couches waiting. Lev had come to join me and was happily chasing nothings around the room. It was cute. Finally, I heard the door open

In walked Draco happily and I held still so he wouldn't see me. I didn't know why, I just did. He went on towards his room as Crabbe and Goyle came in. They looked stiffer than usual, uncomfortable. I got up and made my way towards them

"Crabbe, can you give me back the notes I gave you for potions" I asked and was given two nervous looks. _Thank Merlin_ I sighed. "Oh good it is you two." I said in a hushed voice. "I was thinking you wouldn't be able to get the potion done in time."

"You know it's us?" asked the Goyle lookalike. I nodded and looked over at the few other Slytherin that were in the common room.

"Don't worry, I promised I wouldn't tell. Now I know you guys have questions but I have to warn, you don't ask too many. Crabbe and Goyle hardly talk even to Draco and when they do it's mostly to agree with whatever he said. Understand?" They both nodded and I sighed again, walking back to my seat next to Lev. _Hopefully this will convince them Draco is innocent_

Draco came back holding some paper in his hand and put it in front of "Crabbe". He faked a laugh and passed it on to "Goyle". Whatever Draco had showed them, had obviously upset them.

"What's up with you Crabbe" Draco snapped as he expected a different reaction from him. "Crabbe" looked over at me for a second and I pointed to my stomach hoping he would get the hint

"Stomach ache" he said and I sighed

As their conversation went on I could tell the Crabbe and Goyle lookalikes were bothered by what Draco was saying but managed to fake it just enough so that he didn't become too suspicious. The insults continued until finally Draco said what would put Harry and Ron's suspicions at rest

"I _wish_ I knew who it _is_. I could help them." Draco told them

"You must have some idea who's behind it all..."

"You know I haven't, Goyle, how many times do I have to tell you?" Draco snapped at his question. He didn't know who the heir was and hopefully that was enough for Ron and Harry. I happily turned to Lev who had stopped chasing randoms and had focused solely on the loose stands of the mat below. I was distracted myself and didn't hear what Draco said that upset "Crabbe". He was clenching his fist but thankfully "Goyle" was able to change the topic before Draco noticed. Everything was going fine until I saw "Crabbe," who I now knew was actually Ron, started turning back into himself. His hair began to grow redder and Goyle began to change back to Harry. They quickly made their way out the door not looking back. Draco looked around confused by the scene and turned to see me with Lev

"Did you see that?" he asked walking towards me. "I know I just saw Crabbe's hair turn red... Almost like- almost as if he were a Wea-"

"Darn it!" I said thinking fast. I took out my wand and started shaking it a little at the ground. "I was practicing that spell, _Multicorfors_, again. I can never get the color pink I want. I tried it on Crabbe because I didn't think he'd notice, that's why his hair looked red" I said and tried to look sheepish.

"What? You're still practicing that spell? I would've guessed you had gotten it by now" he said and went to pick up the paper he had shown Ron and Harry.

'What's that?"

"Nothing, I just thought those idiots deserved a laugh. Do you think they were acting slower than usual?" Draco asked putting the paper up his sleeve. I shrugged and went back to playing with Lev. Thankfully now Harry and Ron knew the truth and maybe now they'd leave Draco alone.


	33. Valentine's Day

Time passed and no one else was attacked. Harry Ron and Hermione had kept looking around but still there was no sign of the Slytherin heir. All the fuss had started dying down but not too much. Most people were trying to ignore it just as I was. The professors decided to give us a little surprise as a morale booster.

"Happy Valentine's Day!" shouted Professor Lockhart wearing some very pink robes. The Great Hall had been decorated for the occasion. There were many flowers against the walls and heart shaped confetti falling from the ceiling. I thought it was funny the room matched him. Professor Lockhart had gone all out for this, going as far as bringing in dwarfs as his "friendly, card carrying cupids."

It was obvious many of the other professors weren't thrilled with Professor Lockhart's idea. The cupids kept interrupting classes to deliver cards to the students. Personally I thought it wasn't a bad idea. Sure the execution could have been better but all this commotion was more than enough to distract us. I watched as dwarves walked up to my classmates and handed them their valentines. _I wonder if I should send someone one_ I thought as I watched one more of the "cupids" walk into my classroom

"Katrina Volkov!" he yelled inside

"Here," I called to the little guy a little surprised. I hadn't seen Draco with a valentine so I didn't think it was him, but who else could it be? "And, um, it's actually Katerina..." He didn't seem to care and handed me a valentine.

"Who's it from?" Daphne said excitedly next to me. _How did she get over here so fast?_

"It doesn't say..." I commented as I looked over the envelope. It was a simple white envelope with no writing on it. I could tell there was something inside but on the outside it was blank

"You know, it just looks sad when people send themselves things. She actually wants us to believe someone would send _her_ a valentine? Please" Pansy almost yelled from the back. I gave her a look but otherwise ignored it. I tucked my valentine away in my bag to read later. After that, more valentines seemed to come in a rush. By the time I reached my room I had five in total.

"You sure spent a lot of time sending all those to yourself didn't you" Pansy said in a sour tone. I rolled my eyes at her and sat on my bed patting the space next to me so Lev could join me. He growled at her before lying down next to me, resting his head on my lap. All of us were in our room, Pansy, Millicent, Daphne, and me. Daphne had gotten valentines too but Pansy and Millicent hadn't. It was their fault for being so mean to everyone. Maybe if they were nicer they'd have friends rather than fellow evil doers. Draco hadn't given her one, much to her disappointment. _Then again he didn't give _me_ a valentine either…_

"Would you open yours already? I want to see" Daphne said excitedly next to me. She sat next to me and Lev growled quietly from his place on my lap. He had gotten more used to Daphne and trusted her more around me, seeing as we spent so much time together, but he still liked to warn her from time to time. I smiled at my little puppy and reached for my first letter.

The blank looking envelope I had gotten first had been anything but plain. Inside was a card with colorful hearts floating a few inches off the parchment and,written in the center with black ink, **"Happy Valentine's Day! With Love, Fred & George".** It made me smile how they could make the smallest things seem so wonderful. I heard Pansy make another comment but I just ignored her.

The letters I received were all very nice. Neville had sent me one with a cute drawing inside. Another was from a Ravenclaw I knew, Marcus Belby. Another was from a Hufflepuff, Ernie Mcmillan. And the last was from Adrian Pucey, who I had met during our house Quidditch practice; he was keeper for our Quidditch team.

I wrote them each a thank you letter and put them in my bag to send out tomorrow. By the time I was done it was night and far too late to be making my way up to owlery. Daphne and Millicent had already fallen asleep and so had Lev. Pansy, however, was not in the room at all. I gently lay Lev's head off of me and on the bed, getting up. After a little bit of stretching I decided I wasn't tired enough for sleep and headed down to the common room. Downstairs there weren't many people around. _It must be later than I thought…_ Sitting by a corner I saw Pansy talking to Draco.

"Hey" I heard someone say next to me. I turned around and saw Adrian standing in front of me. He was tall, well taller than me at least, and was in the same year as Fred and George. He was a rather quiet person which was why I never really talked to him until Draco joined the Quidditch team. He was nice though

"Hi," I said with a smile. "Thank you for the valentine today. That was really sweet of you." Adrian smiled. It looked like he was going to reply but Draco came over towards us and stopped directly in between us. I hadn't realized he'd left his place with Pansy. He turned to Adrian and gave him a look. I saw Adrian returned the look as if they were having a silent conversation. _Maybe it's a boy thing_

"I see," Adrian said still looking down at Draco. He laughed a little to himself and leaned to the side around Draco to look at me. "See you later" he said and left for the stairs.

"Hey" Draco said turning back to me with his usual serious face

"Hey" I said quietly. Honestly, I was a little disappointed he hadn't given me a valentine today. Then again I shouldn't be expecting him to just give me things all the time. I went to sit down and Draco followed, sitting next to me. I smiled at him a little but it faded when I saw Pansy walking over to us. She sat in the seat right in front of us and smiled cruelly at me.

"So how was your day?" I asked Draco, ignoring Pansy.

"Fine," he said, playing with his sleeve. I thought I saw something inside of it but chose to discount it. "Actually I wanted to talk to you" he paused and looked over to Pansy. It was mainly the three of us in the common room now. There were a few other people but they were so scattered and far away that it was as if they weren't even there. "You can go; I just want to talk to Katerina, alone."

Now it was Pansy's smile that faded and mine that grew. She looked like she wanted to argue but it was obvious Draco didn't care what she had to say. I had to smile. She gave me one last grudging look before going upstairs towards our room.

"What is it?" I asked still a little happy. He started talking a couple of times but no sound came out. I waited patiently for him to find his words. Instead, Draco pulled something out of his sleeve and pushed it towards me

"Here" he said looking to the side. It was a valentine. It was red with black writing inside. He seemed to have tried to make some decorations inside but gave up halfway through and colored over it. It had pink glitter on one edge that dripped off the page. It was so poorly made I would've thought a five year old made it. And it was the cutest thing I'd ever seen.

"Did you make this yourself?" I asked genuinely surprised. Usually Draco just bought things; it was rare, if that, when he actually took the time to make something.

"Are you saying I can't _make_ things? If you don't want it I'll take it back!" he said next to me sounding flustered.

"Thank you" I told him, really meaning it. With a smile I hugged him and kissed his cheek

"Yeah, whatever" he said before briskly getting up and walking to his room. He had never been good at expressing his emotions and I had a feeling he never really would. Either way, it was the thought that really mattered so I happily clutched my valentine and made my way up to my room for the night.


	34. Another Victim

"You think _Hagrid_ is the Heir of Slytherin?" I asked surprised. Hermione had told me about the diary she, Ron, and Harry had found; she seemed to trust me more now. It was probably because I kept their secret about the polyjuice potion. "I didn't see it for myself but I wouldn't put too much trust in a magical diary. Are you sure you can believe it?"

"I'm not sure what I should believe anymore!" Hermione replied sounding distressed. "The diary showed it's _him_ and there's evidence and _facts_!"

"Well, you know him better than I do. He just doesn't seem like the type." I had only ever spoken to our gamekeeper a few times but he seemed like a kind person.

Back in the dungeon I looked over next year's electives with Draco in his room. Both our fathers had given us "advice" on which we should choose. And by advice of course I meant they insisted we should take the classes they chose. Both had forbidden Muggle Studies as one of our choices.

"Why do we have to pick two? I hate all of these" Draco said making a face at the course options.

"They're not that bad" I replied. "You only have four to choose from anyway. Unless you want to take Muggle Studies-"

"Are you kidding?!" he exclaimed as I laughed. Of course I didn't expect him to even consider the class. He made a face at me but moved on. "What are you taking?"

"I was thinking about Arithmancy."

"Of course you would. You don't have to take it just because your father told you, you know"

"I'm not" I sighed. My father had recommended it when giving me "advice" but I had chosen it for me. "I think it sounds interesting and it's never a bad time to look towards the future. Besides, I'm also thinking I want to take Care of Magical Creatures."

"No" Draco said looking straight into my eyes

"What do you mean _no_?" I asked defiantly.

"I mean: no, you are not taking that class" he said serious. I tried to argue but he raised his hand to stop me. "It could be dangerous. You don't know what kind of creatures they'll have and I'm not letting you take it."

"You're not _letting_ me?" I asked annoyed

"Take Arithmancy. Take Muggle Studies for all I care but you are _not_ taking Care of Magical Creatures!" It was a good thing we were alone, otherwise we would have caused a scene. I hated being told what to do by anyone and it always got me in a bad mood. I had to breathe a few times before I could speak

"Draco," I said once I was calm enough to talk. "Don't tell me what to do. You know how I hate to be told what to do. I don't even do what my own father tells me to sometimes, do you really think I'll do what you want me to? Now, don't give me that face. You want me to be safe, I get it, but _don't_ tell me what to do."

"Hardheaded as ever" he muttered and looked back down at his list of electives. "Fine. If you're taking it I will too. But one sign that you're in danger and I'm taking you out of that class, understand?" I didn't agree with him but knowing he wouldn't just let it go I nodded in response.

Draco ended up signing up for the same classes I did. Having settled on Arithmancy and Care for Magical Creatures I had been contemplating taking a third class. Since I had the option I also chose to take Study of Ancient Runes. I decided not to tell Draco about that one, just in case he'd take it too. I loved him and all but I knew he'd hate the classes and sometimes his attitude took the fun out of things.

It was almost time for the next Quidditch match. This one was between Hufflepuff and Gryffindor. Wood had been making the Gryffindors practice every night after dinner so I hadn't seen much of the twins for the past few days.

When Saturday came it was filled with sunshine and breeze. I walked with Draco and Lev to Quidditch Pitch when I heard it again. "…_kill…_" I stopped dead in my tracks and looked behind me, trying to spot what had made the noise.

"What is it?" Draco asked, looking cautiously at my face. I must've looked as spooked as I felt. Lev barked softly at me in my arms probably worried too

"Nothing... It's nothing..." I said looking around. I had yet to find the source of the voice and I didn't want to tell anyone what I was hearing until I was sure of what it was.

"Does she really have nothing better to do than read?" I heard a Slytherin girl comment to which others laughed. I turned to look in the direction she was to see Hermione running towards the library looking alert. _I wonder what has her looking like that…_

"Save me a seat okay? I'm going to go see if she's okay." I handed Lev to Draco who reluctantly took him from me. "Be good," I told my pup giving him a quick kiss on the forehead and left before they could protest, heading the same direction as Hermione.

Inside the library I saw her frantically looking around the books. She dropped a few but didn't bother picking them up. She didn't even notice me. Once she found what she was looking for Hermione ripped out a page from an old book and I gasped catching her attention

"Hermione what's wrong?!" I was getting really worried about her behavior lately. All this stress must've been too much for her.

"I- I think. But I'm not sure. I hope it's not! I-!"

"Shhhhh!" Madam Pince quieted Hermione and walked away, eyeing us carefully

"Hermione..."

"A mirror!" Hermione exclaimed as loud as Madam Pince would allow. "Do you have a mirror?"

"Uh maybe," I said and started looking around in my bag. "Yeah, I have two actually. Why-" she grabbed them out of my hand and started looking at them. Examining.

"These should work." Hermione said to herself and handed me one back. "Can I borrow this one? Okay, thanks. Now I have to find Ron and Harry. Keep that with you at all times, do you understand? _At all times_." She waited for me to nod then quickly ran out of the library

"Wait, Hermione! Where are you-?"

"What do you think you're doing?!" Madam Pince exclaimed. "Put those books back right now!"

"But Madam Pince I wasn't-"

"Don't tell me you weren't using them because I just saw you using them"

"Hermione was. Hermione Granger. You know her; she comes in here at least once a day. She was looking through them when I came in"

"Oh forget it, I'll do it myself. I doubt you could have enough respect for them to do it right" she said and started picking up the books herself.

I walked down the corridors but saw no sign of Hermione. There was a lot of hustling and bustling around. I found it curious but headed to the field to see if she was there. I started walking but wasn't even halfway there when I saw people coming out grumbling or looking worried. Draco, followed by Crabbe and Goyle, met me where I was standing.

"What's going on?" I asked them taking Lev back from Draco much to their relief.

"Game's cancelled. Probably because they found out how much Gryffindor sucks!" Draco said in a louder voice as some Gryffindors walked by. Among then I saw Neville. _I wonder…_

"Hey, Neville" I called out, surprising both him and Draco. "Have you seen Hermione? I think she came here to look for Ron and Harry"

"Oh, um, well, I haven't seen her but Harry and Ron just left with Professor McGonagall into the school." Neville stuttered.

"Thanks" I said and started towards school but Draco stopped me. "What?"

"We have to go to our common rooms. You can talk to these idiots later" he said looking at Neville who walked away with his friends and muttered something under his breath.

We walked back to the Slytherin common room together where Professor Snape explained our new rules. Apparently there had been another attack between the time I entered the library and when I met Draco again in front of the Quidditch field. Because of the new attack the professors had decided it would be best to enforce some more rules as a precaution. We were now expected to return to our common rooms by six in the evening and were not allowed to leave after that until morning. The professors also had to escort us between lessons and pretty much everywhere else. But worst of all there would be no more evening activities, and no more Quidditch.

"I don't get why _we_ have to put up with this? Who cares, I'm a pureblood! Even halfbloods will be fine. Why don't we just kick out the mudbloods and get this over with."

My fellow Slytherins agreed clapping at Draco's little speech or throwing out comments of their own. I on the other hand, wanted to go find Hermione. Draco saw me fidgeting by the door and gave me looks to remind me not to go anywhere. I got out the mirror Hermione told me to keep and looked at it. Staring at my own reflection, I wondered why she had said that and why I felt this uneasiness. I shivered when I heard the voice for the last time in a thankfully very long time.

_"... rip... tear... kill..."_


	35. Snooping

"Come on, Lev. Let's go, I'm getting dizzy…" Since the new rules had been given out I couldn't walk Lev outside anymore. So, I had to improvise. I had been walking him to some of my classes but only if my professors allowed. Most often I would just walk around the common room and up and down stairs. It made me a little dizzy after a while though, going in circles, so I didn't do it often. Mostly I just let him run around the dungeon. It wasn't the same but it was something.

After our little walk I went back upstairs and to our dormitory. From outside I heard loud voices arguing; it must have been Pansy and Daphne. That's all our room seemed to be filled with lately, yelling and arguing. It was usually Daphne that argued with Pansy while I tried to ignore her. Millicent never really talked much, only agreed or disagreed with stuff…

"You had no right! Who do you think you are" I heard Daphne scream through the door

"Who do you think _you_ are talking to me like that?" Pansy yelled in response. There was a crash as something fell and I rushed in. Inside, the room was a mess. The beds were all unmade and things were all over floor, including _my_ things. Pansy stared at me as I stood by the door. In her hands were my plushie and a card.

"What's going on?" I asked not sure whether to be surprised at the mess or annoyed she had my things

"Why don't you tell me? What is _this?_" she said throwing my presents on the ground. Lev growled at her but I picked him up not wanting him to get involved

"They're presents. What were you doing looking through my stuff?"

"That stupid mutt of yours took something from me and I wanted it back. Now answer the question! What is _that_?!" On the ground I saw the card had been Draco's valentine

"It's a valentine-"

"I can see that! I'm not blind! Why do they have Draco's signature on them?!" she yelled outraged. There was a paused. Was that really all she cared about? Making such a big deal out of this just for a card? I looked over to Daphne and she looked a little surprised too but not as much. "Well?!"

"Well what? So he gave me a valentine. We're friends, you know" I said still unable to understand why she was acting like this

"I- You- Ugh!" she said too angry to speak. "You stay away from Draco! Understand? Or you'll be sorry" said taking out her wand.

"_Excuse_ me?" _Did she really just tell me what to do?_

"You heard me! Stay away from him, or else" she warned crossing her arms. Pansy gave me a look, expecting me to agree. I laughed humorlessly and set Lev down on my bed

"Do you honestly thing I'm going to listen to someone like _you?_" She kept looking at me with the same annoying face. The truth is she could have been seen as a pretty girl if she'd just stop making those faces. I took a deep breath and decided to end this once and for all. "That's it. Daphne, Millicent, could you two leave us alone for a second?"

"What?" Pansy said. Daphne gave me a look saying she wanted to stay and watch but agreed. Millicent stared at Pansy, unsure what to do. I could tell Pansy didn't want to be alone with me; she wasn't as tough when it came to actual confrontation. "Do you think I'm stupid enough to fall for that?"

"Oh, I understand. I just wanted to talk but if you're too scared..." That triggered a nerve. Trying to prove a point, Pansy told Millicent to wait outside and I handed Daphne Lev to take care of. He was warming up to her more and didn't even bark at her when she held him. They stepped through the door, leaving me and Pansy alone in our room.

"You know," she started and I walked towards my bag. I figured she would do this. "If you just stay away from Draco we wouldn't even have a problem. It's your fault you're always around him. He doesn't even like you, he's told me so. In fact, you annoy him. And-"

"_Silencio_" I said and with a jab of my wand she went silent. Gave me an outraged look and I smiled and set my wand back down. "Now you are going to listen to me. I've had enough of your talking and it's really starting to annoy me. So, unless you want me to pick up my wand again and do something other than silence you, you'll listen." She was still giving me a hateful look but nodded.

"I don't know why you hate me so much. I get that you don't have to like me but up until recently I'd never done anything to you. If it's because of your little crush on Draco that's between you and him so stop involving me. I've known him since we were kids and were just friends. I honestly don't know how many times I have to say that to people. Anyway, I'm not going to stop talking to him so get used to that. If you don't like me fine, just keep it to yourself and shut up about it. Nobody cares"

With a waved of my wand I undid the spell, allowing her to talk again; but she didn't. We were both quiet for a while. I had said all I wanted to say and it seemed that Pansy didn't have any snide comment to add. We stared at each other for a little while and I sighed. It seemed that this was the end to our conversation so I started towards the door to let the girls back in. But just as I was about to reach the door, Pansy started talking.

"You're really stupid aren't you? You think everyone is nice to you because they _like_ you? Nobody likes you here. At least I say it to your face. Everyone is only nice to you because of your father. Take him out of the picture and no one would even talk to you, not even Draco." Somehow, she was able to find the words that hit me where it hurt most. What she had just said had always been a big worry of mine, even as a child. I didn't move.

Daphne and Millicent rushed back into the room, obviously having heard everything. Each went to their own side. Daphne tried to tell me something but I couldn't hear her. I couldn't feel anything. I just stared at Pansy, who stared back. I would've disregarded it if she had been her usual smug self but she wasn't, she was serious. I looked at Daphne one last time and rushed downstairs by myself.

Everything just felt overwhelming. I had to deal with the guilt of not being able to tell anyone about the chamber, Hermione had been paralyzed, and everything was getting to be too much. I should have no time to deal with trivial things like Pansy's little jealousy but it hurt. I curled up in a ball on a couch in the common rom and thought of what she said. In a way she was right, nobody really talked to me and I had made my peace with it. But the way she said it… It just made me feel horrible. The only people who I knew loved me regardless of my family were Draco and my brother. Even so my brother was _part_ of the family, even if he had left it. But Draco…

"What's wrong?" I heard a voice calling out to me but didn't look up. What if she was right? What if I was alone? Would people treat me the same if they knew the real me? "Kitty, what's wrong?" I looked up to see the voice I had heard had been Draco's. He stood in front of the couch, his face was worried and turned even more so when he saw my face. He touched my face and wiped my cheeks. I had started crying.

"I'm fine," I said before he worried too much. "Allergies, you know. Darn plants"

"Don't be stupid, I know you don't have allergies. And we're in the dungeon, no plants here." He took a seat next to me and studied my face. I smiled at him through my tears to convince him I was fine, but I wasn't. It was all an act, just as it always was. And if I could smile through tears I'm sure Draco could at least fake being nice. I had done that enough times too, it wasn't that hard… I felt my eyes start to water again at that last thought and sunk my face down to my knees.

"Idiot," he sighed and I felt Draco get up to leave. I kept my head down, crying, but stopped when I realized I didn't hear footsteps. I raised my head, curious as to whether Draco had actually left, and saw his face just inches in front of mine. He had gotten up to kneel so he could get a closer look at my face. He wiped my tears with his sleeve again. "How many times have I told you? You don't have to be fake with me. If you don't want to tell me something then fine but I'm not stupid enough to believe you're okay. So either stop crying or tell me what you're crying about so I can help." He looked mad and I smiled; a real smile this time.

"You already did" I said and hugged him. I couldn't believe I almost believed Pansy. Annoying as she was, the girl was smart, and she could easily get in my head. But it was okay, I knew Draco was a good guy and that he really did care about me. If he didn't, he wouldn't put up with all I made him go through. And even though there are things I wish he would change, he was the only person I knew I could trust. He may be a stubborn, rude, and cruel little boy but I loved him just the way he was.


	36. The Fight

It's almost summer at Hogwarts but things weren't so happy. The new rules seemed unnecessary and were starting to frustrate me. I could understand that it was better not to wonder around at night but having to be taken around the school by our teachers was an overreaction. I'm sure whoever was doing this must not care for rules anyway if they went as far as attacking students in the middle of the day. The identity of the attacker was still unknown and while I found it bothersome to be shepherded around, other felt safer because of it.

It did worry me to see how much everyone thought the attacker was someone in Slytherin. All this was causing even more of a gap between our house and the other three. In our house most thought that we had nothing to worry about; that whoever the heir was, he wouldn't hurt someone of pureblood or even a halfblood. The other three houses weren't as carefree and did worry about the situation, as they should. What was happening at Hogwarts was serious and all should fear it.

Unlike everyone else, Draco seemed to be happy with how things were. I never understood that side of him but in all honesty I never really tried to. He had his own way of thinking and even if I didn't agree with it I decided to leave him alone. If I nagged too much, after a while, he'd just tune me out. He had received a letter from his father informing us that he had been the one to get rid of Professor Dumbledore and Draco couldn't have been happier. It did him proud to know his father had enough influence to be able to kick our headmaster out of Hogwarts. And of course he took every opportunity he could to remind others of this.

"I always thought Father might be the one who got rid of Dumbledore," Draco boasted in the middle of Potions one day. I saw Harry and Ron who were sitting behind us shift in their seats, annoyed with him. Draco went on and on about it as I looked through my potions book, looking at what our next assignment would most likely be. I had learned it was easier to just ignore him whenever he started one of his rants. It was simple to get the whole story without actually having to listen to all of it.

Blah… Blah… Blah… Dumbledore's gone…

Blah… Blah… Blah… Sucking up to Professor Snape…

Blah… Blah… Blah… Father is great…

Blah… Blah… Something Mudbloods… Next one dies…

"Pity it wasn't Granger-"

I turned to him just as the bell rang. He got up and was about to leave but stopped when he saw my face. I was more surprised than anything else. It took me a second to process his words. When I realized what he had said I quickly collected my things and left in a hurry.

"Wait, Katerina!" he called and followed me out of the classroom. There was a lot of bustle at his comment that was ignored by us both. We hurried down the halls shoving our way past other students. When we finally got to the classroom I sat down in my usual spot not bothering to look for Draco. Daphne sat next to me and looked worried about my expression but didn't say anything. She knew whatever was going on I would tell her when I was ready. Right now I was too upset to think

I went on ignoring Draco for the remaining of classes. Pansy took my usual seat next to him as she usually did when we had a fight. She looked back a couple of times during each lesson; obviously overjoyed about my unhappiness. We kept this way even through dinner. He didn't want to make a scene and I didn't want to hear whatever excuse he had to justify what he had said. Even if he hated Hermione with all his being he could at least respect the fact that she is my friend and wait until he was alone with Crabbe and Goyle to say something.

Once in the common room he tried to get me to listen but I couldn't. I was still too angry to try to be reasonable and if I stayed we would've fought and one of us might've said something we'd regretted. So, I left. I went upstairs to my room knowing that he couldn't go there himself. Right now I just needed to calm down. There was nothing he could say to me that would make me forget his words. I took a few deep breaths as I usually did when angry and tried to calm myself. I sat on my bed next to my puppy and tried to relax. _Maybe a little while up here will let me unwind_

_"_Having a little lovers quarrel are we?" Pansy said making her way into the room. She had her usual nasty face on and still looked rather happy to see me upset.

"Are you saying you consider us lovers?" I replied to shut her up. It did. She really needed to think before she spoke. I picked Lev up and started brushing his fur to distract myself. I was already angry at Draco and if I let her she would take advantage of that anger. Already she kept giving me smug glances and commenting to Millicent how much happier Draco seemed with her sitting next to him in class. _I really don't need this right now_

Thankfully, Daphne came up to keep me company. She distracted me from Draco and Pansy with random topics of conversation. I appreciated that. I told her what had happened between us, careful that Pansy wouldn't overhear. I knew she didn't like Hermione any more than Draco did but at least she kept quiet about it. We stayed up talking for a long time and it was a good distraction

It was late now, near midnight, and Daphne and Lev had fallen asleep. Pansy and I were having a sort of staring contest from our beds. This had been going on for a while now and it was getting boring. I sighed, deciding this was enough of Pansy for one night, and got up to go to the common room.

"What's wrong princess? Can't keep up can you?" she sneered from her seat.

"No, just got sick of staring at your face" I replied shutting the door. She really needed to think before she spoke. I made my way downstairs thoughtful and almost ran into a boy. I was about to apologize when I looked at his face. It was Draco. We looked at each other and he spoke when he saw I wouldn't

"Katerina, let's just talk about this okay!"

"Talk about what? How you said you wished my _friend_ would have died? She's in the hospital wing right now Draco! What If she never gets better? You're so selfish! Do you ever think of anyone but yourself?!" I screamed louder than I meant to. Others who were still in the common room looked our way curious as to what the yelling was all about. I thought Draco would leave me alone so we wouldn't cause a scene. He didn't.

"_I'm_ selfish? Not everything I say has to do with you, you know. Just because you like that Granger doesn't mean _I_ have to. We both know mudbloods are beneath us. Why can't you understand that?"

"You know why!" I shouted back. Draco was the only person I ever talked to about my brother. He was the only one who knew he was still alive. And he knew my brother was the reason why I accepted muggles more than my family and probably most other purebloods.

"I'm not talking about _him_ I'm talking about you! He made his mistake-"

"Stop" I said quietly

"If he wants to run off with her let him, that's his problem-"

"Draco, stop" I said a little louder. Still, he ignored it.

"It's his own fault he wanted to become a filthy blood traitor-"

"Shut up!" I screamed and slapped him across the face. All was quiet in our common room and even those who weren't listening to our fight before now were. "That's enough! I've told you _never_ to call him that! I- I can't. I can't talk to you right now; I can't even look at you!" I headed for the stairs but paused. It wouldn't help if I went upstairs to Pansy, so where was I to go? _Only one way I suppose_

"Where are you going?!" he asked as I began to walk to the main door, his hand on his cheek

"Away from you!" I yelled and slammed it shut making my way through the passage out of the common room and out of the dungeon.


	37. Night Out

*I uploaded this early just because someone kept asking :) Anyway enjoy \(^-^)/*

.

"I can't believe him!" I whispered roughly to myself. I knew that Draco said hurtful things when he was angry but I never thought he'd say _that_. It wasn't my brother's fault he fell in love with a muggle. And so what if he did, that didn't make him a traitor…

After a while I wasn't even angry anymore, just sad. Draco knew how much my brother meant to me yet he still called him a blood traitor. He knew that I cared about Hermione too and yet he still said it was a shame she hadn't died. My guess was he had been saying that just to bother Harry and Ron but he still shouldn't have said it. I was beginning to think that Draco didn't care about me as much as he used to. I knew he thought these things but before he would at least wait until I wasn't around before. _Maybe we're growing apart…_

It was hard making my way around the castle this time of night. There appeared to be teachers at all corners of the halls. It was really hard to avoid them and I almost got caught quite a few times. It was a good thing I was friends with Fred and George as they taught me a few things that came in handy. Being the troublemakers that they are they knew many secret passages or elaborate hiding places that saved me from getting caught outside my dorm.

I hadn't thought this out very well. Blinded by my anger it really didn't occur to me how much trouble I could get into if caught. It wasn't as if I was out for a midnight stroll on a regular day. Because of the attacks, seeing me out this late might cause some of the teachers to think that I'm the Heir of Slytherin. Especially because, well, I _am_ in Slytherin. The truth is I couldn't go back to the common room, not easily anyway. Trying to avoid the professors, I had accidentally made my way up to third floor, near the Clock Tower Entrance. I knew a shortcut to get to the common room but I still had to make my way down some floors, closer to the dungeon.

I didn't hear any footsteps so I leaned against a wall, catching my breath. For the moment I was alone. I looked at my surroundings, a little surprised at what I saw. I'd never been out this late at night and everything looked different somehow. Without the usual morning light the castle was frightening. Or maybe that was due to the fact that the attacker still hadn't been found. Even as a pureblood I didn't believe I was completely safe.

There was a window near me and I looked outside, thinking the same thing I had been about the castle. It was just as terrifying if not more so. There weren't teachers outside, from what I could see at least. They probably thought that nobody would make their way there this time of night. That or they thought they could catch them before they reached the doors. _Either way someone must be pretty stupid to go out there this late at night_ I thought just before I saw it

"Please let me I'm imagining this" I groaned to myself. I wasn't. Outside, near the Forbidden Forest, there was a figure moving about. It looked like that of a boy, one with flaming red hair. I only knew two redheads who would willingly be out this late at night, despite everything that was happening

I hastily made my way downstairs, careful not to make too much noise. What were Fred and George thinking? If they got caught they could get in serious trouble. And what could they possibly need from the Forbidden Forest that they would sneak out in the middle of the night for? _It's like they don't think!_ I paused and tried to calm myself. Apparently I still had some left over anger that I didn't know about. It wouldn't be fair to take it out on them; they had nothing to do with this. Before I realized, I was at the Entrance Hall.

I made sure there was no one around before opening the door. Quickly I ran over to where I had seen the twins, hoping no one would see me in the open space. Normally I wouldn't be doing something so dangerous and reckless but I really cared about those boys. I hadn't known them for very long but they were different. I had learned to recognize false smiles and fake people and knew that those two were genuine. Fred and George really were great guys. That's why I wanted to keep them out of trouble.

However, when I reached the gatekeeper's hut, at the edge of the Forbidden Forest, I got a little surprised. Instead of the two identical boys I had expected I found Ron, along with Harry, standing by the pumpkin patch. They were talking about something and didn't notice me. As I got closer I noticed Ron was shivering.

"What was the point of sending us in there? What have we found out, I'd like to know?" he said sounding frightened

"That Hagrid never opened the Chamber of Secrets," Harry replied getting out a large cloak to cover him and Ron. Just as he was about to throw it over their shoulders he spotted me. They both froze when they saw me. It was obvious they didn't trust me as much as Hermione had and it didn't help that I had caught them here, out in the middle of the night, near the Forbidden Forest. I knew that they wouldn't be doing something bad but this was still a bad situation to be in. Nobody spoke

"So, are you going to tell me what you're doing out here?" I spoke first. At my words they frowned

"We could ask you the same question" Ron said in an angry tone. I was surprised as I looked at their faces more closely. Neither was happy to see me, not that I expected they would be, but there was something else. I realized then they didn't have the same confidence in me as I did in them. "Why are you out here so late at night?"

"You can't be serious" I said guessing what they were both thinking. They both gave me serious looks, confirming my suspicions. I ignored them. "Why are you in the Forbidden Forest? And why were you talking about the Chamber of Secrets?"

"That doesn't concern you" Harry replied looking bothered. I knew I wasn't their favorite person in the world but they should know I wasn't involved in this. Not in that way at least

"You guys can trust me, Hermione does…"

"Well she's not here is she?" Ron said sounding hurt at her loss. "Why should we tell you anything? For all we know…" He didn't finish his sentence but I knew what he was implying.

"Do you- Do you think I'm the Heir of Slytherin?" Shockingly they didn't deny it. Both had scowls on their faces now. I couldn't believe them.

"How else do you explain why you're out here? You are a Slytherin, after all! I bet that's why you helped us with the polyjuice potion; so we wouldn't suspect you." We were starting to get loud and I looked back at the castle. I wanted to clear this up but if we stayed out here too long someone might spot us like I did them.

"Why don't we talk in there" I said looking over at the hut. Neither seemed thrilled about the idea. "If someone catches us we'll all be in trouble, okay. Let's just go inside."

They looked hesitant but agreed. We all walked into the little cabin so as not to draw attention to ourselves. Out of the corner of my eye I saw both of them carefully take their wands out, just to be safe. I figured it would only make me look guilty if I did the same so I didn't.

"Why should we believe you're not the Heir?" Harry asked once we were safely inside the gamekeeper's hut.

"I would _never_ hurt Hermione!" I yelled, not believing they would actually say such a thing

"Explain yourself then!" he yelled back. He looked like he really believed I did have something to do with her attack and was angry about it. Having had more than enough yelling for one day I decided to take a more rational approach. I calmed myself down and explained myself.

"I had a fight with… someone in my house. I just couldn't be in there anymore so I came out here…" I stopped to make sure they were actually listening and not just pretending to be. I wanted them to realize I wouldn't have done this to Hermione and they did seem to be listening. Well Harry did, Ron not so much. I continued anyway.

"I got stuck upstairs trying to avoid the professors and I saw Ron out one of the windows. I thought it was Fred or George getting things for some prank of theirs and I came down here to tell them to go back. When I got down here I saw it was actually you two and I heard what you were saying so I thought I'd ask. That's all." I didn't expect them to say they believed me but they didn't say anything. It worried me a little that they weren't speaking but what could I do. Ron certainly didn't like me and I was sure Harry didn't trust me. They looked at each other, deciding whether to believe me or not.

I took in the silence, looking around the little cabin. It was a small place, hard to believe such a large man used to live here. In the corner I saw a big dog looking at us from under a blanket. He looked scared and was shaking a little from what I could see. I smiled a little as I thought about Lev. Here was this big scary dog cowering in the corner where as my little puppy dog had no problem standing up to powerful wizards like my father for a piece of toast. I took a deep breath and turned back to the Gryffindor boys.

"Alright, fine. We believe you" Ron said grudgingly

"Hermione trusted you so we're going to trust you too," Harry said slowly, as if it were a warning. "If we find out you _are_ the heir…"

"I'm not, I swear. I know this is hard to believe, considering I am in Slytherin, but I don't hate muggles. She's my friend and if I knew who the heir was I would tell you," I added just to be safe. They nodded. I knew my thoughts were heresy to those of Slytherin but that was just me. I said goodbye to them and headed towards the door. As I was about to leave I saw Harry pull out the large cloak again. I didn't understand how that would keep them from getting caught but I just shrugged it off. Thankful that they believed me I hurried back to the dungeon for some much needed rest


	38. Forgiveness

Thankfully I made it back to the dungeon without getting caught. After my little meeting with Harry and Ron I had been so surprised by their suspicions of me that I had nearly forgotten what Draco had said. Almost, but not quite. We were still fighting and neither of us wanted to make the first step. I didn't want to fight but I couldn't just let Draco think that his words had meant nothing. He should've realized how much that would've hurt me and stopped himself.

Classes went on somewhat normal and I used them as a way to occupy my time. Despite the constant complaints from the students we still had exams. I was actually thankful for them as it kept my mind busy. I spent my time reading and practicing in my room with Daphne and felt pretty confident about the material. I couldn't help but think of Hermione and how she would've been studying like mad if she hadn't been attacked.

Three days before the first exam we received some good news. It was breakfast and we were all in the Great Hall trying to enjoy our meals. I drank from my orange juice, talking to Daphne when Professor McGonagall made her announcement.

"Tonight, we will be able to revive those people who have been Petrified."

There was an explosion of cheers in the Great Hall as everyone forgot about their breakfast. Even some of the Slytherins joined in with a small applause. I joined in the excitement, happy that Hermione would be back to normal soon enough. I turned over to Draco and he turned to look at me. Unlike everyone else, he wasn't cheering. He still looked sad and angry that I hadn't forgiven him. Mostly angry though. I was more sad.

We were back in class and I couldn't stop myself from looking over at him. I wanted things to get better between us. I wanted things to go back to how they were before he said the things he did. But for that to happen one of us had to apologize. He had too much pride and I didn't feel like I had anything to apologize for. _Even if I did, Draco should be the one to apologize to me_… I sighed and put my head down on the desk. It was almost time for break and I was just waiting to get out of there when the announcement came

"_All students must return to their House dormitories at once…."_

We were all dismissed to our common rooms before our professor even had time to finish the lecture. I made my way, along with the other Slytherins, back to the dungeon without any questions. We were all confused waiting to be told what had happened. Had there been another attack? Soon enough the Head Boy and Head Girl came in to tell us that there had. This time it was Ginny Weasley.

Nobody in my house really cared about this news. Even though she was a pureblood, nobody looked worried for their own safety. According to some of them since she and her family associated with muggles it was as if she was one. They couldn't have cared less. But I felt sad for Fred and George. They must be taking this really hard; they may never see their sister again. I knew that feeling too well. When my brother left I wasn't sure if I ever _would_ see or hear from him again.

I sat in the common room in my pyjamas looking out a window into the lake. It could be scary and cold here but it was relaxing to listen to the sound of the water swishing against the glass. From time to time the giant squid or other creatures from the lake would even swim by. I hugged my knees, resting my cheek on them and continued to look into the Black Lake. There was beauty in those dark waters and I lost myself in it. It wasn't until someone came up to me that I was able to look away. It was Draco.

"Hey" he said curtly and sat next to me. I gave him a small smile as a greeting and turned back to the window. He sighed audibly and I saw him anxiously rubbing his hands through the reflection in the glass. "When are you going to get over this stupid thing?"

"It's not stupid to me" I replied and turned back to him. He looked angry and I smiled again. He never was good with expressing his emotions. "If it's so stupid why not just apologize?"

"Because I shouldn't have to! I can say whatever I want if I want, alright!"

"Alright" I said and continued to look him in the eyes. He knew this didn't mean I had forgiven him and it only angered him more.

"What do you want from me?!"

"Draco," I lowered my voice so others wouldn't hear. "You know how much I love my brother. You can say whatever you want to whoever you want; I'm not saying you can't. Just know that when you say that kind of thing I'm not going to stay around to hear the rest." He looked down but I meant what I said. I was willing to put up with Draco's behavior, he sure had put up with mine over the past years, but some things were too much. I looked back to the lake waiting for his response. It was a while before he spoke

"Just because you decided to turn _nice_ doesn't mean I will. I'm fine with the way I am and if you don't accept that, I don't care!" Neither of us believed that

"Then why are you still talking to me?" I smiled at him and he scowled back. He took in a jagged breath and put his head in his hands. When he took it off I saw a small smile on his face. "So… you'll apologize to me?"

"Yes. I'm sorry…" he apologized looking down. This time that wouldn't be enough. He had really hurt me and I wanted him to make it up to me.

"You're sorry for…" I said forcing him to go on. He sighed but complied

"I'm sorry for hurting your feelings. I didn't mean to make you sad or call him… that…"

"And you'll apologize to him too?" That one comment was what had upset me the most. I did care a lot for Hermione but no one came before my brother; not even Draco.

"I'll start the letter tonight" he said with a nod. I smiled at him and he smiled back, happy that I was going to forgive him. But I wasn't done yet.

"And you'll apologize to Hermione?"

"What?!" he exclaimed shocked that I would even say such a thing. I tried not to laugh at his reaction but couldn't hold back a small smile. He didn't notice. "You want me to apologize to that filthy mudblood?!"

"Draco…" I said as a fake warning. I knew he'd never agree to that but I pretended I really wanted him to do it. I would forgive him of course but first I needed him to feel bad too. I needed to know that my forgiveness really meant something to him. It sounded bad but I liked knowing that I was the one in power in our little relationship.

"No!" he screamed unwilling to accept that part my request. It was hard but I kept a straight face.

"Fine" I said in a serious manner and got up. I started walking away but Draco grabbed my wrist, stopping me.

"Wait" he said grudgingly and sat me back down on the window seat. He looked like he was thinking about something, but probably not about how to apologize to Hermione. And I sat there, waiting. "I'll…"

"You'll apologize to her?" I said encouragingly. He made a face

"No I'm not doing that. But I'll… I'll do something else…" he mumbled. That was probably what he was thinking about, how to make it up to me without having to apologize to a Gryffindor.

"Like what?" He didn't look like he knew.

"I'll…"

"Yes?" I said actually curious as to what he had in mind

"I'll do this" he grumbled and with that he stood up. Draco made his way from where we had been sitting and through the large crowd in the common room. Some Slytherins looked confused as others stared curiously as the little blond boy climbed onto a small table in the middle of the room. Everyone stared. He exhaled loudly, sounding aggravated, and turned over to look at me.

"Katerina Volkov. I am so very sorry I upset you. I am a very stupid person and I don't deserve you. Would you please oh please forgive me?" It sounded forced, almost sarcastic, but I couldn't hold back my smile. A few people clapped tauntingly and Draco did not appreciate it. He was waiting for my response and I made a face, as if I didn't understand. Draco responded with an angry one but tried again. "Will you _please_ forgive me?"

"Why not" I said with a shrug and beamed at him. There were more cheers now as everyone was stifling laughs, finding the scene too funny. Draco looked angry and embarrassed as he made his way back to me. By the fireplace I saw Daphne give me an impressed look and Pansy start to stomp off up the stairs to our dorm.

This may not have looked like much of an apology to some people but it was a big step for Draco. He had too much pride to apologize normally that I knew getting up in front of everyone like that must have been really hard for him. I appreciated it. He really was sorry he'd hurt me and I could tell. He finally reached me and sat with me looking out the window, his cheeks flushed. We sat there, smiling at each other for a while. Draco looked happy that I had forgiven him and I was happy to know I meant so much to him. Soon we were told of the new feast to celebrate the end of the Heir of Slytherin's reign.

"Too bad, it was a good run" Draco said as we got up. I made a face at him and he smiled.

"Alright," I said linking my arms, "let's go"


	39. The Slytherin Compartment

The feast was, in a word, amazing. Nobody had bothered changing out of their pyjamas for the celebration and we were okay with that. The feast lasted all night. We each celebrated different things but we had fun together. Halfway during the feast Hermione, along with a lot of the other victims, made their way into the Great Hall happily running over to their housemates. The Gryffindors won the house cup for the second year in a row but it didn't matter. I was just happy things were better between me and Draco.

Even the Slytherins, who had nobody they cared for be attacked, were happy during this feast. We had gotten good news through the whole thing. Thankfully Professor Dumbledore came back along with our gamekeeper Hagrid, who happily greeted Harry and Ron on his arrival. Exams had been canceled and as everyone cheered I could've sworn I heard Hermione yell "Oh no". Professor Lockhart wasn't coming back next year either. Again everyone cheered, even some of the professors.

After the feast things weren't so great, for Draco that is. Mr. Malfoy had apparently been kicked out of the Board of Governors and I knew that made Draco sad. He was usually so proud of his father and now that he was kicked out he had a little less to be proud about. For the remainder of the term he spent his time sulking around. I tried to cheer him up but he just needed some time to get past it. Of course he blamed this whole thing on Harry who had been somehow connected to Mr. Malfoy's lost position. Draco didn't tell me how just that he was. Much too soon, my second year of Hogwarts ended. It was time to get on the train.

"So why aren't you with those Gryffindor friends of yours?" Daphne asked as we walked down the corridors of the Hogwarts Express

"The Fred and George are with their siblings, Harry and Hermione. We've all gone through a lot this year and I'm sure they wanted some family time together. I didn't want to interrupt." Daphne nodded in response. I had said goodbye to all of them before I left and made sure to tell Hermione and the twins to send me letters. They agreed and asked me to do the same

We kept walking, trying to find a compartment were we could sit. Lev was getting annoyed the more we walked, probably anxious to find a place to rest. He had been happily barking as I packed my trunk. As much fun as he had been having at Hogwarts he really wanted to go home. There he had less people that he didn't like and more who would willingly wait on him. Even as a puppy, he was spoiled at home.

"What's wrong boy?" Daphne asked looking at him in her arms. Lev liked her a lot now, willingly letting her hold him. I smiled at the sight. The further we went the more Lev kept sniffing the air, looking around and growling. As we got to the end of the carriage Lev started really getting annoyed and even began barking. We stopped, curious as to why my little pup was behaving this way.

"Would you shut that mutt up!" we heard girl's voice shriek and noticed why he had been acting that way. In the compartment next to where we were standing were Lev's two least favorite people, Draco and Pansy. Sitting in front of them were Crabbe and Goyle. _No wonder he was so angry _I thought to myself. Pansy wasn't someone most people wanted to be near her given the choice

"Hey" I said ignoring her and sat next to Draco. Daphne went to sit next to Crabbe who was happily eating a chocolate cake he'd probably stolen from the kitchen before we left. Lev climbed off Daphne's arms and onto my lap, resting his head on my arm. I began petting his head and he closed his eyes, happy. Pansy kept making faces at me and I ignored her.

The train ride began and we had decent conversation and even got Crabbe and Goyle talking a little. Not much but definitely more than usual. Once the trolley came we stopped talking and went to enjoying our sweets. Lev trotted over to Daphne who started feeding him some of hers. He barked at her, a happy bark, thanking her for the chocolate. Draco grumbled next to me, annoyed at the scene.

"You okay there, Draco?" I whispered at his grumpy face.

"Stupid mongrel" he mumbled to himself and took a bite off his licorice wand.

Overall, it was kind of a nice trip. I could've done without Pansy but I had fun with everyone else. The train ride was long and we all started getting a little tired. Midway through the trip Draco rested his head on my lap, seeing as Lev was still with Daphne. My little pup didn't appreciate this and growled at Draco before getting distracted by some sweets Crabbe was taking out next to him. Out of habit from all the times Lev was on my lap I started stroking Draco's hair. He didn't seem to mind though. Daphne gave Pansy a cruel smile and I laughed a little at her expression.

A few hours passed before we arrived at King's Cross. It wasn't as bad of a trip as I had expected. Pansy and I ignored each other for most of the time only occasionally making faces at one another. She rushed out of the compartment when the train arrived and I certainly didn't stop her. We separated from Crabbe and Goyle as we walked through the gateway and went our own ways. Daphne and Draco stayed with me and Lev as we looked for our parents.

To my surprise mine came to pick me up once again, probably because they felt bad they didn't spend Christmas with me. Since neither Daphne's nor Draco's parents had been seen yet we all walked over to mine. Alla got my things from me as my parents looked approvingly to my two Slytherin friends. Not that they would admit it but I was sure they disapproved my relationship with Hermione and the twins.

"Hi papa, hi mum" I said when I reached them. They each gave me a kiss and a smile, probably still happy I was with two other purebloods. I knew they secretly feared I would follow in my Nikolai's footsteps.

"Hello dear," my mom said running a hand through her hair. "Draco, lovely to see you. And Daphne, dear, you've grown so much. It's been a while since we last saw you." The Greengrass family was a rather wealthy one, like ours and the Malfoy's, so my parents had known about Daphne even before I met her.

"It's nice to see you too Mr. and Mrs. Volkov" Daphne answered. She stayed to talk to my family for a bit, until hers came. Mr. and Mrs. Greengrass came by with a brief greeting and she went with them, leaving just Draco.

"So Draco, are you visiting again this summer?" my father asked looking down at my little blondie

"Of course he is" I answered for him and he smiled. Behind him I saw Mr. Malfoy, Draco's father, walking over to us. "Hello Mr. Malfoy"

"Miss Volkov" he said with a nod as he came to stand next to his son. Draco looked happily at his father. I found it sweet how much he cared for him and looked up to him. I just hoped he turned out a little less… corrupt, for lack of a better word. Lev barked at the new member of the group and I picked him up to calm him down. Mr. Malfoy ignored him. "Mikhail, Karissa, how are you?" he greeted my parents. He was a lot friendlier when it came to people he deemed worthy of his company

"Fine, thank you Lucius" my mum said warmly

"So, Lucius, I hear you were kicked out of the Board of Governors" my dad said with a small smile. My father liked feeling superior too. He was just happy to have power over people I suppose. I think I inherited some of those traits from him.

"Actually, I resigned," Mr. Malfoy lied. "Felt things were beginning to get a bit boring is all."

"_Boring_ you say?" my father continued to tease Mr. Malfoy. "Why I thought that was an excellent position but to each their own I suppose."

"Yes," he replied stiffly, not wanting to get on my father's bad side. "Come, Draco, it's time we take our leave." Draco nodded and turned to say goodbye to me.

"Bye Kitty." He started walking towards me, expecting a hug, but stopped. Lev jumped out of my arms and barked at him from the ground. Thankfully Alla came over with some treats and he happily rushed over to her. She was one of the few people he liked. I giggled and turned back to Draco

"Bye Deedee." I smiled at him and gave him a hug and a kiss on the cheek. I said goodbye to his father and we went our separate ways. It was okay, I'd see him soon enough. He would definitely visit me this summer.


	40. Third Year

Just a reminder that I am planning on continuing this story for the third year too

I was actually planning on following all seven books if I can

I love the books and love writing this story

But I do have other things to do so I'm sorry if I can't update as often as you would like…

I hope you're all enjoying it though :3

Thank you to everyone who stuck around this far

And don't forget to review and let me know what you think

Anyway I'll probably be posting another chapter in a few days so see you then :)


	41. Birthday Party

It was 23 July and it was my birthday today. My parents had decided this would be a good opportunity for me to socialize with people of our class so they threw a party. They had taken care of the guest list for me, inviting some of their business partners as well as other wealthy and high class families. I had been allowed to pick some guests myself despite their averseness. Draco and Daphne had already been invited so I didn't need to worry about them and, although my parents weren't happy about it, I invited Fred, George, and Hermione. Unfortunately none of them could make it as they were all out of the country on vacation.

Hermione had gone with her parents to France for the holiday. She sounded like she was enjoying herself last time we spoke and apologized for not being able to come. Still, she sent me a parcel for my birthday. It had been a potions book she had found that she thought I would enjoy. I did. Fred and George had gone to Egypt with their family thanks to a contest they won. The annual Daily Prophet Grand Prize Galleon Draw had been awarded to their family and they used the money for a family vacation. They apologized for not being able to come either but wished me a happy thirteenth birthday. It wouldn't be as fun without them.

Since this was meant to be a "classy" party I had to dress up. I found it annoying having to do things this way but seeing as it was my "special day" everyone had to wear dress robes, including me. And seeing as it was one of the rare occasions where I would allow it, my mother picked out my clothes. She had chosen one that wasn't very extravagant and I was thankful for that. It was simple silver with an uneven hemline that reached my knees. If she could, my mom would dress me up like I was a doll. She sure had tried enough times. I never really liked dressing up though and it was one of the many reasons why we weren't very close. There were a few other Slytherin that came to my party besides Daphne and Draco. Along had come Pansy and Millicent as well as Draco's roommates at Hogwarts; Crabbe, Goyle, Blaise Zabini and Theodore Nott. None of them talked much for some reason.

"Oh don't you look lovely!" my mum exclaimed as I walked on the stone steps to our garden in the back. She rushed over to me and began fixing my already unnaturally straight hair. She'd been doing this for the past few hours and I was sure that she'd keep at it for a few more. "You look like a little porcelain doll! Or at least you would if you'd stop making that face."

"Fine" I sighed and gave her one of my best fake smiles. She returned the smile and happily walked over to my father who was talking to Mr. and Mrs. Harris. I walked around taking in the gaudy decorations knowing that if my parents had let me plan my own party none of this would be here. The garden was beautiful enough on its own without the need of all these flashy adornments. I sighed again and took a seat next to the circular pond at the far corner of our garden. I liked it here; it was the most relaxing part of our whole house. It looked like a giant, but very organized, puddle. A perfect example of the way modest things could be beautiful.

"Hey birthday girl" Draco said strutting over to me. "You look nice…"

"Thank you," I said raising my hand so he would help me stand up. Draco pulled me up and into a hug. I giggled and hugged him back. "You look very handsome yourself. Did your mum pick this out?"

"Are you saying I can't pick out my own clothes?" he asked in foul tone. I smiled and poked his forehead with my finger. Draco never did like it when people underestimated him

"Stop being so defensive! Besides this is a party right? Or at least it's supposed to be" I mumbled the later looking around at the crowd of people my parents had gathered. It even looked boring. Nobody here looked like they were the kind of person who even knew how to be happy.

"Yeah," Draco said, looking around the garden just as I was. "Well I could give you your present now…" He laughed as my face lit up. Draco always got me the best presents. Unlike my parents, he actually bought things that he knew I would enjoy. Whether it was cheaply handmade or the most expensive he could find I always loved it.

"Go get it then!" I said excitedly. He laughed again

"Wait here, I'll be right back." With that he was off. It wasn't long after he left that I heard footsteps and expecting Draco I turned smiling. It faded when I saw who it really was.

"Well if it isn't the _special_ birthday girl." In front of me stood Pansy, annoying as ever. I had specifically told my parents not to invite her but they ignored me. Apparently it would have been "rude" not to invite her family and even more so if we didn't invite just _her_. The truth was they didn't want to look bad, seeing as her family was one of the few purebloods left. I honestly didn't care; I hated her regardless of her blood status.

"Lovely to see you too" I smiled, imitating my mother's warm tone. "I do hope you're enjoying yourself." My attitude caught her off guard and she was unsure of how to react. Usually I fought with her if not I ignored her. But I had promised my parents I wouldn't fight and I'd behave in a kindly manner. I would be nice, just like I always pretended to be.

"Do you think I'm going to fall for that?" she snapped stepping closer to me. I smiled, she didn't. "You're always pretending to be such a goody two-shoes! You're not and we both know that. I wonder how people would react if they knew the real you?"

"Whatever do you mean?" I asked still smiling but more alert. If she tried pulling something nasty, at my own birthday party, there's no way I was going to forgive her.

"What if everyone at this party saw how foul you really are? If they knew you like I knew you would they be saying such good things to your parents?"

"Now, I know you're smarter than to do something like that" I warned her in the friendliest tone I could manage. She smiled cruelly and I stood up, still smiling.

"I bet Draco wouldn't even speak to you if he knew this side of you" she sneered. I paused. Then I laughed. This time it was genuine and I couldn't help myself. "What's so funny?!"

"Yeah, what is so funny?" Draco asked next to us, in his hands my birthday present.

"Draco, hi!" she said quickly running her hand through her hair trying to tidy it up. "You look really nice today"

"Thanks," he said curtly and looked to see me stifling laughs. She really hadn't realized that Draco knew that side of me more than even my own parents? He was probably the one person I could be completely myself around without fear of judgment or rejection. Obviously she still didn't think things through, or maybe she had just been hoping she'd be right. "So why are you laughing?"

"I was just laughing at Pansy. Oops, I'm sorry; I meant laughing at what she said. She had just told me the funniest joke. Would you like to hear it Draco?" I asked teasingly and batted my eyelashes at Pansy. She glared in response.

"That's okay; it probably wouldn't have been as funny to me. Here, take your present" he said and pushed the neatly wrapped box towards me. I smiled at the box and took it from him

"Pansy, dear, why don't you go get some food" I said trying to think of a nice way to tell her to leave. She ignored it. "Wouldn't you like some Russian Tea Cookies? They're delicious." She ignored me again

"Just go" Draco sighed knowing that I wouldn't open my gift until she left and she wouldn't leave until he made her. She looked bothered that he took my side so easily but left. This was already a great present. Draco saw my face and smiled. "Why didn't you just tell her to leave yourself?"

"Mum and Papa said I couldn't be mean." I quickly sank down on the grass and began unwrapping my gift, excited for what I would get this time. Inside the box was a piece of fabric, neatly folded. I reached for it and was surprised at how sleek it felt. Draco sat in front of me as I took the beautiful scarf out. It was fine knit and my favorite color, forest green. "It's so soft!"

He didn't say anything but instead continued to look down at my gift. Inside the box, underneath where the scarf had been, there was a flat square jewelry box.

"What's this?" Draco shrugged and gave me a small smile. I set my scarf on my lap and reached for it with curiosity clear on my face. Inside the box was an antique looking necklace. It had a thin, metal chain holding a tear shaped gem. It was a flaming red. "Oh Deedee, this is beautiful"

"You like it then?" he asked looking hopeful. "It's a ruby, your birthstone"

"I love it. Help me put it on?" He looked surprised by my request but took my new necklace from my hands as I turned around. I held up my hair and he draped the chain around my neck, seeming a little hesitant.

"You know," Draco said when finished, "rubies are the symbols of beauty and nobility…" I smiled and he looked down to the box he had given me. "It suits you…"

"Are you saying you think I'm beautiful Draco?" I teased, wrapping my new scarf around my neck, knowing what his reaction would be

"No!" he yelled briskly standing up. I stood up too and gave him a hug before he could leave. Even in the dim light I could tell he was beginning to blush. Draco would always behave this way around me but lately he had started doing it more than he used to. I still didn't understand why he only did this with me. Maybe it was because we were such close friends.

"Thank you" I said. Draco sighed and hugged me back. He rested his head on my shoulder. We were close to the same height now but I knew it wouldn't last. My brother had grown more in one year than I had thought possible and went as far as growing taller than our father. For now I might as well enjoy not having to look too high up at Draco. I felt him laugh and pull away enough so he could see my face. "What?"

"Can you ever go one day where your mind doesn't go up to the clouds?" he laughed. I made a face at him and he surprised me by giving me a kiss on the forehead. I heard an aggravated sound and looked over to see Pansy stomping off to the other side of the garden. This was the best present ever

Soon we separated and I went over to socialize with some of the other guests. Since most of them were my parents' friends I had to be on my best behavior. I did talk to Daphne for a little while but it wasn't long before I was pulled aside to talk to someone else. I highly doubted that most of the people here had actually come for me. When it was time to open my presents that became more apparent. Draco had given me his wonderful present already and Daphne had gotten me a 1000 piece puzzle "for those days when you need a distraction". Besides theirs, every other present was just a generic item that most girls would've liked. Of course I smiled politely and pretended to be exited but I wasn't. Eventually I said my goodbyes to everyone and thanked them for coming. My face hurt from smiling


	42. The After Party

After the party, Draco and his parents stayed a while longer. Mr. and Mrs. Malfoy had joined my parents in the living room to discuss some things while we chatted in the garden. We sat by the pond again, this time it was just the two of us. Well I was sitting at least. Draco had his head on my lap, resting his eyes.

"You can stay over if you want," I said looking down at him. "I don't think our parents would mind." _Although your mum might_, I thought. Draco's mother had a habit of being unnecessarily protective of her son. It had taken a while for her to trust me enough to let him visit when we first met. We practically had to beg her to let him come over as children

"Maybe…" he mumbled, keeping his eyes closed. I ran my fingers through his hair, messing up the neatly combed locks. He had looked nice today. "I do need your help with one of the essays we were assigned anyway."

"Which one?" I asked looking over to at the pond. The stars were reflecting off the water shining brightly. I liked coming out here at night. My home had a lot of beauty in it but was usually hidden among the piles of gaudy decor. Or maybe because I came alone. But being here with Draco, it made things feel better.

"The History of Magic one" he said opening his eyes and looking up at me. They were as shiny as the stars. "I'm guessing you already finished yours."

"More or less. I just need to proof read it a few more times." His eyes looked tired. It was really late now and I was starting to get tired myself. Pretending to be happy all the time was more exhausting than one would think. "Come on; let's go get some cold coco"

We got up, walked back into my house and straight to our kitchen. Since Bonny, our house elf, was already there I asked her to serve us. I liked her, she was cute. Draco and I sat by the kitchen island and drank our cold coco. Lev was running around the kitchen happy to be out of my room. My parents had insisted he stay up there during the party so he didn't harm any of the guests. As funny as it would've been to see him attack Pansy it was better having him stay inside. Bonny had been given the task of keeping him busy and I was just happy that Lev was at least decent towards her. She fed him his treats and he happily wondered off to another section of the house.

"So why do you want my help with the History of Magic essay?" I asked Draco in between sips. "You know that's my weakest subject."

"Yeah but you're still… better than me" he said unenthusiastic to admit it. "And I need to make sure my grades are better this year."

"You don't give yourself enough credit. You don't have to be perfect" I said glancing over to the living room. I knew Mr. Malfoy wasn't happy that Draco wasn't the first of his year and insisted he do better. I didn't like that. Draco was great just as he was

"Easy for you to say" he grumbled before calling Bonny to refill his cup

"I'm not perfect. I'm so imperfect I have to _pretend_ to be perfect. Did you not just how many smiles I had to fake?"

"See you're even amazing at faking things" he said with a grin. I made face at him just as our parents walked into the room.

"Come, Draco, we're going now," his mum said and Draco stood but gave me a look. I sighed and rolled my eyes. I didn't understand why he couldn't ask his parents himself

"Um, Mrs. Malfoy, we were actually wondering if you would let Draco stay the night," I said in the most convincing tone I could think of

"I don't know…" she said looking over at her husband. "You two aren't little kids anymore."

"What do you mean?" I asked. Nobody answered. Mrs. Malfoy looked over at her son

"It's just Draco…" Draco looked back at his mum, almost scared. She didn't finish her sentence

"If you mean he snores, I already know."

"I don't snore!" he said distracted from whatever his mum was about to say

"Yeah you do. Albeit not as much as Crabbe or Goyle but-"

"I don't snore!" he insisted and I laughed a little

"It's not that…" Mrs. Malfoy went on. "It's just…" She and her son exchanged a look

"We have to finish an essay," I insisted, "and we wanted to go over ours together. Please?" I knew my parents were upset by this since insisting was childish but I had no other choice. I knew Draco wouldn't argue with his parents and there was no other way his mum would let him stay. Mrs. Malfoy thought about it and Draco gave her a pleading look.

"Alright I suppose," she agreed when she saw Draco's face. "But not in her room"

"They can sleep in the living room. I'll have Bonny look after them" my father said and I smiled at him

And that's how Draco and I had our little sleep over. It had been a while since he had stayed over. I saw him a lot during the summer and even more so at Hogwarts but it was still nice to spend this time together. Bonny had gotten blankets and pillows from all the spare rooms to make a nice set up for us in the living room. She had somehow managed to make it so comfortable that I almost forgot we were on the floor. It looked nicer than you would expect a pile of blankets and duvets to look too. We worked on our essays into late in the night and they were getting pretty good. Draco was almost done with his and I was almost done correcting mine.

"Let's stop," Draco said looking up from his essay to rub his eyes. "I'm getting a headache"

"Alright." We had been working for a while now and we deserved a break. Besides, this would be a good time to ask him something I had been very curious about. "Hey, Deedee, why did your mum not want to let you stay?"

"What?" he asked quickly turning back to the roll of parchment.

"You know when I said about your snoring, and she said that wasn't it. What did she mean?"

"How should I know?" he said still not meeting my eyes

"She was saying something about you but didn't finish-"

"Nothing! It's nothing! Just leave it alright!" he said frustrated. My eyes went a little wide as I realized what was happening

"Draco Malfoy, are you hiding something from me?" I asked taken aback

"No! I just don't know everything my mother thinks! Stop trying to manipulate me into telling you everything!"

"I don't _manipulate_ you!" There was a pause. "Okay maybe a little but not _that_ much." Another pause. "Shut up" I said and took a drink of my coco

"Just let it go" he sighed and dropped his head on my lap

"Alright..." I had my own secrets I could let him have one. I continued to look through my paper about witch burnings as Draco slowly fell asleep on my lap. I didn't know why he had chosen to sleep there when he had a perfectly soft pillow on the other side of him. He kept mumbling something to himself and rolling over. _At least he isn't snoring_. I ran my fingers through his hair. I was getting in the habit of doing that. It was soft though, and really pretty. When I finally finished my essay I carefully shifted his head onto his pillow and slid down to my own. As I began falling asleep he mumbled something again. I was only half awake but I could've sworn he had said my name

I woke to the sun in my eyes and Draco's head on my shoulder. _How did he roll all the way over here?_ I yawned and I felt him stiffen. Was he awake already? I rubbed my eyes, blinked a few times to adjust them, and then poked his cheek.

"You awake?" I asked still poking his face. He let out a loud yawn and sat up. I sat up too

"I am now" he mumbled in a husky voice, rubbing his cheek. I smiled at him. We got up and headed towards the kitchen for some food. Alla made us some hotcakes. We sat in the dining room eating until my parents walked in. They greeted us briefly and sat down to eat themselves.

"Oh dear," I heard my mum say as she looked at the front page of my father's copy of _The Daily Prophet_. "How long has been out?"

"Black?" my father answered turning to the screaming man in the front page. "Not long. Nothing to worry about the Azkaban guards will get him soon enough. Doubt he'll get very far. He's mad you know."

My mother took my father's word for it and returned to her meal carefree as always. Draco and I finished and we made our way up to my room. I didn't think that there was much to worry about since my father had seemed very relaxed at the breakfast table. Then again it was the first prisoner who had broken out of Azkaban. My father had told me what he had done, to Harry's parents… That was enough to scare me. Plus my father never thought of someone being stronger than him as a possibility.

"Relax, they'll catch him" Draco reassured me but I didn't entirely believe him. Every year there seemed to be some other danger to worry about. I sighed faked a smile and continued to help him write his essay.


	43. The Azkaban Guards

*So I had some extra time today and finished this chapter early... Enjoy :)*

.

"Hey you two" I greeted my favorite twins as Lev and I made our way into their compartment on the Hogwarts Express

"Kitty!" they yelled and hugged me before my puppy could stop them.

"So how was your vacation?" I asked taking hold of an annoyed Lev. He really didn't like it when people came near me.

"It was great!" they said cheerfully.

"It looked like fun from what I saw." I remembered their faces on the article I read in _The_ _Daily Prophet. _I was glad their father had won the price. They deserved it

"The tombs were the best part" said Fred looking over to his brother

"Mad curses those old wizards had." George said looking content and smiling. "And how was your summer?"

"It was fun. I mostly stayed home but I had friends come over from time to time."

"Why didn't you ask your parents to take you somewhere?" George asked

"Yeah you sure have the money to" Fred added looking a little confused.

"They're busy… Besides I don't need to take a trip. I'm already treated like I'm on vacation." I mumbled the last part mostly for myself. It was true that I was always given things and pampered more than a child my age should. "It's not so bad at home."

"We're sorry we couldn't go to your party" George added suddenly and looked down

"What? Oh don't –don't be sorry! It's okay really" I stuttered slightly, noticing how sincerely apologetic they looked.

"But it was your birthday" Fred replied

"But really it was fine. You were with your family in Egypt; it's not like it was a short trip. And I had fun so don't worry about it okay." They both looked relieved and smiled. I hadn't expected they would feel this bad about not being able to attend a silly party. I smiled back. _They really are sweet boys. _After a little while the trolley lady stopped by with her sweets. I bought us all some and she went on to the next compartment.

"You know," Fred commented after taking a bite of his chocolate frog, "we'd probably feel bad about you buying us things-"

"If you weren't filthy rich that is." George finished

"But you are-"

"So we don't." They grinned and went back to their sweets. But by now I knew them better than to believe that

"You don't have to feel bad. I don't mind. And my father's rich, I'm not."

"Only rich people say that" Fred replied

"Well would you like a sandwich? Our mum made them" George looked through his things and got out a well wrapped square.

"Oh no, I couldn't take that" I said quickly before could hand it to me

"Why not?"

"Your mum took the time to make that for you. I couldn't possibly take it from you" They looked at each other as if I wasn't speaking English.

"So? She makes them for us all the time. I don't think she would mind if you took one"

"Especially if she found out how much you've spent on us" Fred mumbled moving on to a cauldron cake.

"Doesn't your mum make you food?" George asked jokingly

"No" I answered. They both looked surprised

"Wait what?" Fred asked, looking up from his cake "Never?"

"Not for as long as I can remember. Alla has always been the one to feed me and take care of me. My mum is busy with other stuff I guess." I said and shrugged. It was a little odd when you compared it to other families but it was how I had been raised, so I was used to it.

"Well more of a reason for you to take this" George said and he handed me his sandwich. Expecting they'd keep insisting if I didn't, I took it from him.

From the first bite I could already tell, it was delicious. It wasn't as if I had never had a sandwich before but there was something about this one that made it special. Alla would make them for me if I asked her but it wasn't the same. It was a strange thing to describe but it was as if you could tell this was made with motherly love. I finished it faster than I had expected and was honestly surprised to look down at my empty hands. George in front of me laughed.

We talked some more as time sped by. It was nice to have this time with them as I hardly ever saw them. The thing I loved most about Fred and George was how honest they were. While most people hid their true selves, much like I did, they were open books. Even if their actions were impish or even a little mean they did what made them happy not caring what others thought. They were completely different than a certain blond I knew. Unlike them Draco cared a lot about what others thought. Whether it seemed like it or not appearances meant a lot to him. When it was almost time to arrive at Hogwarts we stopped talking. The train had started to slow down.

"What's going on?" They both shrug at my question. It was still too early for us to have arrived. But then why were we slowing down? The train stopped with a jolt and there were several thuds as students' trunks fell onto the floor. "Are you guys planning a prank you haven't told me about?"

"Not yet…" The lights went out. Nothing was visible other than outlines in the darkness. Lev started barking like mad and it was the only sound I could hear other than the heavy raindrops against the windows.

"What's wrong Lev?" I reached out to him and he barked at me. I was surprised but closed the space between us to hold him. He was shivering. "He's scared," I said even more shocked. He had never been scared of the dark before. Fred and George gave each other a look and stood up. I heard the compartment door open and close after a few seconds.

"Can't see anything" I heard one of them say as their shadows sat back down.

"Should we go ask someone?" I asked. Before either of them could answer we were interrupted by someone bursting into our compartment. From what I could make out in the dark he looked like a small boy. A very frightened one. He sat in the seat next to mine ignoring all of us, staring at the door. He sounded as if he were hyperventilating. I was about to talk to him when I saw it; what he had been running from.

An outline made its way into our compartment. From what I could see of the light outside, the figure was as tall as the ceiling and was completely covered by a dark cloak. The sight was a lot scarier than it should've been. The creature took a look around the compartment. Whatever it was, I wasn't surprised that boy was frightened of it; just looking at it made me feel uneasy. My father taught me about a lot of terrifying things but this one could definitely beat all on the list. It was as if it were absorbing all the comfort in the room and replacing it with fear. I could feel Lev was about to bark but I hugged him. I didn't want to know what would happen if he got the creature's attention.

Finally it left but no one in the compartment said anything until the lights came back on. The train slowly started again and we all sighed with relief knowing we were safely away from… whatever that was. I looked over to the twins, who were sharing a meaningful look, before turning to look at the boy who had rushed in. In the like light I could see him a lot better, only now noticing his shiny blond hair and his Slytherin robes

"You okay Deedee?" I asked and Draco whirled around noticing me for the first time. He still looked scared but he masked it with a scowl when he saw Fred and George looking at him too.

"I'm fine" he said sourly, straightening himself up.

"Are you sure?" I asked, touching his cheek, his face was white.

"Yeah" he sighed looking in my eyes. I didn't believe him

"Are you sure? You looked a bit frightened there" George commented. To my surprise, his tone was bitter. "Don't you think so Fred?"

"You're right George, he looked very frightened. Kind of like a cat thrown in water."

"Or a little boy who lost his mommy" They shared a look. Both turned back to Draco whose face had turned from white to red.

"I said I'm fine!" Draco yelled and pulled away from me

"A bit defensive are we" George pushed and Draco got up, aggravated.

"Who asked you, you dirty weasels!" He gave me one last look before making his way out of our compartment, slamming the door as hard as he could manage. I blinked a few times, surprised. Not by Draco's behavior but rather with the twins'.

"Why are you friends with that git?" George asked sounding annoyed.

"Don't know, just am," I shrugged. Fred and George exchanged another look. The truth was I didn't know. Draco had always been childish and rude. He was even more so when we were children but it hadn't changed by much. I guess we just had more in common in those days. We were both spoiled, misbehaving, brats. "So what was that thing?"

"A Dementor," Fred said not sounding as annoyed as George was. "They're the Azkaban guards."

"Wonder why they're here though?" George said turning back to the sweets he had left. I shrugged again and reached for my own pile. I got one of my chocolate frogs and took a bite. For some reason it made me feel better. I handed one to Lev for him to chase around and it looked like it made him feel better too. The rest of the train ride was silent.


	44. Carriage Ride

The twins and I made our way off the train and onto the platform. We met their friend Lee Jordan and we all headed towards the carriages. Unlike Fred and George, Lee didn't seem to be very fond of me. It couldn't be helped; I was in their rival house after all. He was nice enough though. When we arrived at the carriages I stopped and stared.

The large winged horse was in front of the carriage again. It wasn't what you would think of when imagining a winged horse. Its face was expressionless and dragon like with sparkling eyes and sharps fangs. It had a bony body and instead of a regular feathered pair it had vast leathery wings, like those of a bat. On its head it held a long black mane that matched the color of its tail. It was an eerie creature but I couldn't look away.

"You okay?" George asked getting my attention off the creature. He was looking over at me with an anxious expression.

"Yeah…"

"Oh look it's the wannabe with her Gryffindor buddies" Pansy sneered as she walked towards me. Behind her were Draco, Crabbe, Goyle and Millicent. George made a face.

"Hey" I said to the Slytherin boys, ignoring her. Draco looked upset as he saw me standing with the three Gryffindors. He made a face too. I was about to ask him what was wrong when the creature made a sound. I turned back to the skeleton figure and couldn't help but gaze at it; and it stared back. It was sinister yet somehow beautiful in its own way…

"What are you doing?" I looked over at the voice to see Draco wearing the same worried look as George. Pansy wasn't happy. "What are you staring at?"

"The… carriage. I just think they're pretty." I turned back to the creature. It was still looking at me. I had been able to see them since the first year but no one else had told me they could too. Still every time I saw them I was pulled into a sort of trance and I couldn't look away

"Maybe you should go get your head checked" Pansy scorned. Everyone stared like they agreed but were too nice to say so

"Alright everyone, hurry along, into carriages" Percy, the twins' older brother, yelled.

"Come on, let's go" George said coming to stand next to me.

"Alright. See you in the Great Hall" I said to Draco as I got on. The twins didn't say much of anything else on the ride there. We crossed the gate into Hogwarts and saw Dementors standing on either side of it.

"Those things creep me out" Lee said looking out at the creatures

"They creep everyone out" Fred said looking out too. George however was still staring at me, probably worried at why I had been acting so strange when I saw the winged horses.

Either way, we made it safely passed the Dementors and into the Entrance Hall. I said goodbye to the Gryffindors and headed to my own table. It wasn't long before Draco arrived and sat next to me. He made a face, probably still annoyed I had chosen to be with the twins over him. I smiled in return and looked to the front, where the sorting was about to start. Like last year, we watched as little first years joined their different houses. Everyone seemed pleased with where they were placed in their new house.

Daphne's sister Astoria joined us at the Slytherin table. She was cute and I was glad she had been sorted here. I had met her a few times before on some visits to the Greengrass Manor and had learned enough to know that she was really hoping for Slytherin. Astoria didn't talk much but in Slytherin the only people who did only seemed to make snide remarks. We welcomed her and once the sorting was over, everyone settled down. Professor Flitwick carried the ancient hat out of the room and from the corner of my eye I saw Harry and Hermione sneak into the Hall.

"Maybe Potter was hiding from the Dementors" Draco sneered as people around us laughed. Apparently Harry had some trouble with the Dementor in the train and had fainted for a short time. And Draco, of course, was taking advantage of this as much as he could. Now he had something to make Harry truly embarrassed

In the front, Professor Dumbledore began his yearly speech. He warned us of the Dementors; as if we didn't already know to stay away from them. I turned to Draco who was staring at our Headmaster, irritated. He was still angry with Professor Dumbledore over his father's dismissal from the Board of Governors. Personally I thought his dismissal was Mr. Malfoy's own fault but I wouldn't mention that to Draco. The truth was I liked our Headmaster. He was kind and cared for his students.

This year we also had a few new members to the Hogwarts staff. Since two professors had left our school last year we got two more replacements. Our new Care of Magical Creatures professor was announced to be Hagrid, our gamekeeper. He looked very happy to be given the opportunity and there were many cheers from him; none cheered louder than the Gryffindors.

"No wonder" Draco grumbled next to me. "Only an idiot like him would give us a book that wanted to eat us"

"Just give him a chance; maybe it won't be so bad." He gave me a dubious look before turning back to the Headmaster.

For Defense Against the Dark Arts we got a brand new member, Professor Lupin. There was slight applause but it wasn't much. Draco didn't seem fond of our new professor and neither did Professor Snape. He watched Professor Lupin with a look that could only be described as pure hatred. I had only seen him give that look to one other person, Harry.

"Let the feast begin!"

It was a fun feast. Much like years before we sat and talked and ate. Draco mocked Harry. Pansy and I gave each other death glares. Crabbe and Goyle ate more food than I thought possible. It was simple and nice. Soon enough we made our way to the dungeon where we sat around once more in the common room. After a while Daphne and I went up to our room to play with Lev and left the rest of them downstairs. She sat down with my puppy while I went to get a brush for his fur

"So I see you brought Draco's necklace with you" Daphne mentioned looking at the chain hanging from my neck. I smiled as I pulled out the red gem from under my robes.

"Yeah I thought it was really nice and I loved it" I told her as I made my way back to my bed where she was playing with Lev. He seemed to be even more fond of her now than he had been last year. I handed her the brush curious to see if Lev would let her brush his hair. To my surprise he did

"It suits you" Daphne said with a grin, copying the words Draco had said to me. I had, of course, told her what we talked about at the party and she was not surprised to hear he put so much thought into a present for me. "I still can't believe you can't tell"

"Tell what? Why do you keep saying that?" I asked a little annoyed but she simply gave me an impish look and turned back to my puppy. Ever since my birthday party Daphne had been saying how surprised she was I hadn't noticed. How funny it was that I couldn't see it. I had no idea what she meant but she never bothered to tell me when I asked. Draco had seemed to notice her say this too and was even more annoyed by her comments than I was. _I wonder why _he's_ acting like that…_

_"_So like I was saying," Pansy nearly screamed as she and Millicent walked into the room. "She does not belong in Slytherin. Might as well just kick her out now." She then turned to us and did her best fake embarrassed expression. She was as good an actress as she was sweet, which was not at all. "Oh I am so sorry. I had no idea you would be here. I was talking about someone else of course. No need to worry."

"So, like _I_ was saying," Daphne said trying to ignore Pansy. "I just think it's wonderful that _Draco_ gave you _so_ _many_ nice things. You know because he _cares_ about you _so much_ and all. He _really_ does, doesn't he? Well it's no wonder since you two _have_ known each other for _so long_." I got the feeling she was purposely emphasizing certain words to anger Pansy. It was working.

"Oh please," Pansy replied, "like I care about that. He probably just gave you the first old dirty thing he could find in his attic."

"Are you saying he cared enough to give me a family heirloom?" I tried to keep a serious face but her expression was priceless. I could tell it angered her that I had outsmarted, which was something not many people were able to do.

"You know, in some cultures that would mean you were married." Daphne said matter-of-factly as she continued to brush Lev's fur. I couldn't tell which of them looked happier

"Oh and by the way," I said turning to Pansy again, "you mean his cellar. Draco's house doesn't have an attic." It bothered her that I knew this; that much I could tell. However, I still didn't understand why it bothered her so much that I was his friend. Maybe she just wished she knew him as well as I did. Still, it was funny to use it against her. While normally I at least pretended to be nice but Pansy had pushed me one too many times. Therefore it was no longer my fault that I purposely upset her; it was her own.

After a few more snide comments to each other we all became tired and decided to head for bed. I drifted off to the thought of what this new year might bring. With all the new classes and students there was bound to be some excitement. Hopefully nothing bad would happen this year…


	45. New Classes

It was the second day of my third year today and I was enjoying my breakfast. It was delicious. At the table Draco was telling everyone a story about a little boy who was afraid of Dementors. He never said the boy's name but we all knew who the "mop haired, glasses wearing, oik" he was talking about was. Every Slytherin was laughing. And even though I didn't have anything against Harry the way that Draco was telling the story made me giggle too.

Soon Hermione Harry and Ron passed by on the way to their own table. I waved to her and she waved back. Ron and Harry gave each other a look when we did. I couldn't tell if it was because of me and Hermione or because of Draco who was now fanning himself with his hand. Still, I couldn't help but crack a smile.

"Hey, Potter!" Pansy screamed suddenly. "Potter! The Dementors are coming, Potter! _Woooooooooo_!" She was really getting desperate to make Draco happy. Well he was so at least she was doing a good job of it. Sometimes I wondered if she even had any other interests besides him.

After a few more bites and a little more of Draco's story the class schedules were passed out. Draco and I had almost the exact same schedule. I had decided last minute to take Study of Ancient Runes so he couldn't have copied me even if he'd wanted to. Pansy on the other hand had the exact same schedule as he did. "_Shocker_" I whispered to Daphne sarcastically as we looked over our courses. My first class was Arithmancy, nine o'clock. Draco kept up his act till the very end of the meal.

"Oh would you stop teasing him already" I told Draco as he pretended to have another fainting fit when Harry walked passed.

"Were you scared too?" Pansy said with mocking sympathy.

"No, but someone in my compartment was." I gave Draco a look. He retorted with an angry one, warning me not to go on. I didn't. "Well anyway I'm off to Arithmancy. Don't want to be late."

I made my way out of the Great Hall and rushed to my first class. It was all the way up in the seventh floor and I didn't want to be late. I was sure Draco would be fine with Pansy either way. I had asked the head of our house, Professor Snape, where the class would be last year so that I wouldn't get lost. If I hadn't done that it would've probably taken me twice as long to find the classroom. When I arrived there were only had a handful of students already there. At the front of the class was Hermione.

"Hi" I greeted and sat next to her.

"Hey" Hermione replied. "So you wanted to take Arithmancy too?"

"Yeah it seemed like fun. It sounds like it's going to be challenging but why just take all easy classes, right?" I shrugged and she smiled.

"Exactly! So much better than Divinations. I'm assuming, of course" she added quickly before looking down. Her answer was a little weird but then again so was her being here. I was a surprised to even see her as I had just seen Harry and Ron going to another part of the castle.

"Why aren't you taking classes with Ron and Harry?" I asked curious

"I am" she said solely

"But-"

"I worked it out with Professor McGonagall." She turned to her textbooks ending the conversation. I was still curious but I could tell by her tone she didn't want me to go on. I shrugged to myself and turned to my bag to get my class things out.

"And you? Why aren't you with Malfoy?" She sounded sour when she said his name but I didn't blame her, he _had_ been teasing her best friend just a few minutes ago.

"He's still having breakfast, I think, but he's in this class. I'm sure he can find someone to sit by."

As if on cue, Draco strutted in with Pansy; Crabbe and Goyle trailing behind. He made a face at the Gryffindor and sat on the table on the other side of me. Pansy took her place next to him and the two other Slytherins sat behind them. I wasn't sure how Crabbe and Goyle would manage to get through this class considering how hard people said it was. But they wanted to be with their friends and they'd probably ask for my help if they needed it.

Class started and I could already tell that it _was_ going to be challenging. The lesson was very analytical and complicated which made one have to concentrate but it was well structured so it wasn't too hard to follow. Our professor began by explaining how simple equations could help determine not only the future but a person's strengths and weaknesses. We would be learning the difference between the Agrippan and Chaldean methods along with different historical versions. I found her words very intriguing and began to jot down some brief notes.

Professor Vector spent most of the time talking and briefly explaining what we would be learning during the year. Since she stopped saying things I could take notes on, my mind began to wonder. It wasn't as if what she was saying wasn't interesting but I just couldn't concentrate very long on anything. I looked next to me at the two very different scenes. To my left Hermione was leaning in, listening with excitement at what was to come. To my right Draco was leaning back, his head hanging off the back of the chair and face filled with boredom. A giggle slipped from my lips at the difference between them. Draco turned his head to me, still leaning back, and raised an eyebrow.

"Is there something funny with my teaching?" Professor Vector said from her place at the blackboard. She crossed her arms waiting for my answer.

"No not at all Professor"

"Well I don't suppose you'd like to tell the rest of the class what was so funny." She was a strict teacher and I was sure she didn't like people goofing off in class. It was understandable though. I had heard a lot of things about her and had seen her acting nicely towards other teachers. Since her behavior was a little like Draco's I used him as an example of how to talk to her. I started with a smile

"Well first of all, I apologize for interrupting; I didn't mean to do that. Secondly, I wasn't laughing at you lesson Professor I was happy to see that Hermione here is so excited. I think it's nice that she is taking this class seriously, as it deserves to be. Unlike Divination this class has actual structure and logical pattern. Just thought it was nice that someone shows the right amount of appreciation for your lesson." Out of the corner of my eye I saw Draco grinned. Professor Vector looked happy herself.

"Very well, I suppose that you didn't mean to disrupt the class. Let's proceed shall we?" She continued with her lesson until class ended. I had actually meant what I said to our professor. It was nice and I did like this class very much. I had left out the fact that Draco looked like he was about to fall asleep, though; for the benefit of us all.

As soon as class ended, Hermione rushed out of the room. She said a quick goodbye to me and vanished through the doorway. I gathered my things and saw Pansy making her way out of the room too. It was weird that she wasn't with Draco but I didn't put much thought into it. Crabbe and Goyle walked out after her, both looking exhausted and basically brain dead. This class must've been too much for them after all. Once I had all my stuff put away I said goodbye to Professor Vector and walked to the exit. Draco waited for me by the door.

"I'm impressed," he said when I joined him.

"At what?" I asked knowing full well what he was talking about. We walked through the door and began heading towards the stairs

"You're getting better, fooling even professors now. You've played nice for so long but even with the lack of practice... Not bad." He gave me an approving nod.

"I wasn't lying" I defended but smiled at his version of a compliment.

"You don't have to lie to manipulate someone." He smirked. I stuck out tongue and walked a little faster. He laughed as we made our way into our next class


	46. Care of Magical Creatures

After one more class and a quick Lunch I walked with my house mates to our next lesson. Yesterday's rain had gone leaving the grass shining with dew. It made for a nice day for our first Care of Magical Creatures class.

We arrived a little early but I could hardly contain my excitement. Draco was still upset I had picked this course and was insistent on following close behind. He worried about me too much. Pansy seemed to think so too and looked mad as she followed him. Crabbe and Goyle were not far behind and, as always, followed Draco too.

When we got to the front of the gamekeeper's hut I couldn't help but remembered last year's confrontation with Ron and Harry. They had thought I was the Heir of Slytherin and had been furious to find me out here in the middle of the night. That wasn't a very good night for me as not only did I realize how little trust they had on me but I had just had a huge fight with Draco. I frowned at the shack.

"So then what happened?" Goyle asked looking excited. Draco was still telling the story from this morning. It had gotten more complicated although it was still centered on Harry being a spiv. That boy had a better imagination than I had expected.

I glanced about and saw that our new professor looked very anxious to start, but in a good way. He must have been happy about his first day. Personally I didn't understand why someone would want to be a teacher but to each their own I suppose.

"C'mon, now, get a move on!" Professor Hagrid called as the rest of the class approached. He was talking excitedly and beckoned us to follow. We walked behind him as he led us around the edge of the Forbidden Forest and to a kind of paddock. He told everyone to gather around it so we could get a good look. To what, I wasn't sure. It was empty

"Now, firs' thing yeh'll want ter do is open yer books –"

"How?" Draco yelled next to me. Our professor looked confused. "How do we open our books" Draco repeated impatiently.

He took out his copy of _The Monster Book of Monsters, _which was wrapped shut with a rope. Everyone took out their own copy and all seemed to have wrapped theirs with something. Most were closed with belts, some were in bags. I looked down at mine which was wrapped with a thick piece of lace I had found in my room at the time. I had been afraid it would've ripped but it worked fine.

"Hasn' – hasn' anyone bin able ter open their books?" Hagrid asked crestfallen. The entire class shook their heads. He looked very surprised, as if he had expected the task was something very simple. He took Hermione's copy, ripped off the Spellotape that bound it and began stroking the spine of it. The book shivered and fell open lying quietly in his hand. I looked down at my own book surprised. It seemed so simple now yet I hadn't thought of that

"Oh, how silly we've all been!" Draco sneered next to me. "We should have stroked them! Why didn't we guess!"

"I – I thought they were funny" he said uncertainly to Hermione

"Oh, tremendously funny!" Draco continued. "Really witty, giving us books that try to rip our hands off!"

"Shut up, Malfoy" Harry said quietly trying to defend our professor. He looked like a sweet man and they were friends so it was understandable.

"I told you we shouldn't have taken this class!" Draco whispered roughly next to me, making a face

"Shut up, Malfoy" I said imitating Harry's voice. Draco's frowned as I smiled. Hagrid left into the forest and out of sight. Annoyed, Draco began badmouthing the class. And our professor, obviously. Harry had to tell him to shut up again. I could tell he wasn't happy to have heard this three times in the course of a few minutes. He started making another sarcastic comment when Hagrid came back. With him a dozen odd looking creatures

They had the body of a horse except their front legs were of eagle as were their head and wings. Their beaks were strong and their bright orange eyes reminded me of the Weasleys' hair. They looked big and very dangerous. All had thick leather collars attached to chains. Hagrid being the only thing holding on to them. I saw Draco frown from corner of eye

"Hippogriffs! Beau'iful, aren' they?" Professor Hagrid said happily showing off his friends. I nodded unintentionally. They were majestic. "So, if yeh wan' ter come a bit nearer…"

I started to step forward but Draco held on to the back of my robes. I looked back and he gave me a warning look. I squinted my eyes at him but stepped back next to him. No one else stepped up after me. Harry Ron and Hermione eventually did but very cautiously. My guess was they were only doing it for Hagrid's benefit

Our professor explained how to approach them. They were proud so it had to be done right. I was used to having to be around very proud creatures so I guessed I would be fine. Hagrid made a point to warn us never to insult them. I couldn't even think of an insult that I would say to them anyway. They looked like the embodiment of beauty and strength to me

Draco, Crabbe, and Goyle were mumbling to themselves behind me while he spoke. They were completely ignoring Hagrid and I had a bad feeling this wasn't going to go well for them. I made noises so they'd turn around but they didn't. Finally I got fed up and slapped Draco on the arm

"Ow! What?" he said and rubbed his arm

"Pay attention" I scolded. He made a face and turned back to the boys. Hagrid continued to explain. After more of his lecture he asked who wanted to go first. I stepped up but Draco pulled me from the back by my robe again. "Oh now you listen"

"I'll do it" Harry announced. There were a surprising amount of gasps to his comment. Two girls whispered something to Harry but he ignored them. _Wonder what that was about…_

He went up to the paddock and Hagrid showed him what to do. He went through all the process with the Hippogriff Buckbeak. There was a little bit of trouble in the beginning but he was able to let him touch him. We all clapped; except for the three boys behind me that is. They looked very disappointed as Harry rode Buckbeak

We cheered as Harry got off. After that everyone got their own turn, getting to meet with their own Hippogriff. Mine was sweet or maybe I just had an act for dealing with difficult creatures. I stroked his beak gently and looked around. Poor Neville was having trouble with his. It made me giggle. Draco, Crabbe, and Goyle all went to Buckbeak, patting his beak and looking scornful.

Worried he might do something he shouldn't I separated from my Hippogriff. I curtsied, not wanting to be rude to him, before walking over to Draco. He was saying something to his that didn't look to be happy words. I walked a little faster

"…you great ugly brute" I heard Draco say. In a flash, talons scraped against Draco arm. He let out a cry and I closed the space between us, faster. I kneeled next to him as Hagrid put Buckbeak back in the collar

"Hey, Deedee, are you okay?" I asked worried pushing his hair back. He was lying on the ground hugging his arm. Blood was blossoming over his robes

"I'm dying! I'm dying, look at me! It's killed me!" he yelled as the rest of the class panicked. I saw Pansy trying to come over to where we were but the other students weren't letting her.

"You're okay, it's okay Deedee" I whispered trying to calm him down. He was being overdramatic sure but he was still hurt and bleeding. He put his head closer to my knee but didn't open his eyes. It got me worried. Hagrid came to pick up Draco and walked off with him, taking him to the hospital wing. The class all followed and Slytherins shouted about Hagrid.

"They should sack him straight away!" yelled Pansy who was already crying. Her feelings for Draco were a little too strong if you asked me.

"It was Malfoy's fault!" A Gryffindor boy snapped back. Crabbe and Goyle flexed threateningly at his remark. They were seen as dumb brutes by a lot of people but they cared about Draco. It was a weird relationship but they were friends. I looked at them and shook my head, they relaxed. I didn't want anyone else getting hurt. Pansy ran leaving the rest of the class behind. I walked. While the rest of Slytherins headed to the dungeon I started up the stairs to the hospital wing. Hermione gave me a sympathetic look before we headed our separate directions.


	47. Spoilers Maybe

Okay… so some of people have been asking me questions about this story. It seems like it's easier to just answer them here than do it one by one. It might make the story clearer for you but there may be some spoilers that I let slip through since I know more about what's going to happen than you do and may accidently say something that hasn't happened yet. So if you don't want any of that then just skip to the next chapter or wait till I post it if I haven't yet… I usually just post them whenever I have time but if there's a day that you would want them on then you could let me know in the reviews. It's off topic I know but I could do it probably twice a week so let me know if you have a preference to the days if not then I'll just keep randomly posting

Oh and someone told me that this story is listed under Dramione for some reason but I have no intention of following that ship in any way shape or form. As far as my story is concerned Draco is still a bigot and completely against Muggles. Sorry if you thought that was going to change :/

.

Alright so first is Draco's relationship with Kitty. Yes, he is supposed to like her in a 'more than friends' sort of way. I hint at it but never say it up front because this is supposed to be from Katerina's perspective and she doesn't realize that he feels that way about her. This is partly so that he doesn't come off as a complete prick since he's sweet with her and some other reasons that will show themselves later on. I understand that their relationship is made up of a lot of fighting and arguing but it's not to distance them or anything. They have a special bond. She's one of the few people who he allows to talk back to him and… Well I don't want to get too much into it since I will go through that later so please be patient

Next is the whole Fred and George relationship. They're friends and even though she's a Slytherin they still like spending time with her which I think is sweet. I am considering something happening there but I'm still not 100 percent sure as to what. I don't know if I want her to date one of them or if it's just to make Draco mad or… I don't know. Things may seem confusing about it but that's because I haven't decided yet and I want to leave my options open. When I decide I'll try to not make it so vague. Again sorry

I also wanted to talk about Katerina herself. She can be nice but she can have a temper too. I only sort of explained this but because of her brother's leave she chose to not be as horrible as she was so that their parents had less to worry about. They are well known in the magical community and having a spoiled brat of a daughter on top of a blood-traitor son wasn't good for their 'image' or whatever. So she chose to suck it up and do it for them because even though they're somewhat cold and distant they're her parents and she loves them. I'll get into that later too

I was once told that Kitty didn't deserve to be in Slytherin because she was too nice and I don't believe that's true. You don't have to be a jerk to be in Slytherin. The Sorting Hat chooses people on where it thinks they will excel and where their traits will be best at use. In the first year it told Harry that he would get fame and glory if he would've chosen Slytherin and even insisted that he would've done well there afterwards. While that can be argued as to have something to do with Voldemort being part of him and all the point is he could have been a Slytherin just as easily. Perceptive, cunning, ambitious, pureblood; these are the traits that often follow Slytherins. Those are often the traits that are also tied to power-hungry jerks which are what Slytherins are seen as but it doesn't always go hand in hand. Just as Pansy was with Draco, and Draco was with Theodore Nott, Slytherins choose who they are kind to and that often doesn't include Gryffindors. They are rivals and have been rivals for many years. There is always a Slytherin that likes to pick on a Gryffindor and that could also be a part of why they are seen as horrible. Draco picked on Harry, Snape picked on McGonagall, and Lucius picked on Arthur Weasley. But only the bad side of Slytherin is shown and that is probably the only thing I don't like about the books. Just thought I'd vent on that a little…

And as for other subjects. Someone asked about the whole Salazar Slytherin relative thing and I'm just going to say that yes that will come up again but not anytime soon. The fact that her and her family keep that relation a secret is because Tom Riddle was supposed to have been his last living relative… I'll let you think about that part but just know that it won't be coming for a while. And again no Dramione

Like I've said before I want to see if I can follow all seven books so some of this may not become perfectly clear for another while. Sorry if it's confusing but in all honesty that's just how my mind works. It's a pain trust me I know (-_- ) Well I hope this answered your questions and if not feel free to PM me or leave any reviews on the subject. I will be happy to answer any questions as best as I can ^-^

Now if you'll excuse me I'm going to go play Dark Souls and hope this time it doesn't give me nightmares O.O


	48. Hospital Visit

"Hurry up!" I heard Pansy shriek from inside. "He's hurt, fix him!"

"Tell me what to do one more time and you're out of here" Madam Pomfrey warned. Pansy was mad but shut up. Inside the hospital wing Draco was lying on one of the bed. His face pale and in pain. His robes were hung over the side of his bed, blood stained.

"What are _you_ doing here?" Pansy almost screamed when she saw me. Madam looked irritated with her. I had to admit, it made me like her a little

"May I help you?" she asked me

"I was wondering if I could stay here and wait for Draco to feel better," I said not looking away from him. I didn't like that his face looked so ashy. "I understand if you don't want me to. Too many people can be bad and uncomfortable to work around."

"Well…" Madam Pomfrey started and I looked to her. When she saw my face hers softened. "I suppose so. Just don't get too close, I'm trying to work" she shot a look to Pansy. She ignored it, still staring at me, hatefully. I nodded and sat on the bed next to his.

I watched as Madam Pomfrey worked, applying potions and gauzes on Draco's arm. He groaned and rolled away whenever she went near him. The gash on his arm looked pretty deep and I was sure he was taking this hard. As tough as Draco seemed on the outside he was just a baby on the inside. But he was my baby…

Once done Madam Pomfrey insisted that Pansy go to her next class. She put up a fight but eventually left. I asked Madam Pomfrey if she wanted me to go too but she said it was okay if I stayed. I smiled at her. I liked her even more now. Since Pansy had gone I moved over to Draco's bed and sat next to his uninjured arm. His eyes were closed tightly shut and I haven't seen him open them for the entire time I've been here. I stroked his hair like I always did and as usual it relaxed him a bit. I looked around the room distracting myself. My mind wondered as I kept stroking his hair. It was his own fault he got into this…

"Idiot…" I mumbled to myself

"You're the idiot" I heard him groan. I looked down to see his cold grey eyes staring at me. He was mad. "This is all your fault"

"How is it my fault?" I asked but was unable to hold back my smiled. He smiled a little too

"You wanted the stupid class" he groaned again. I smiled wider. I rested my head next to his happy to see he was well enough to be rude

"I'm glad you're okay" I said. He patted my head with his good arm before groaning again. I sat up as Madam Pomfrey made her way back in. She gave him a potion to feel better and left us again

"Shouldn't you be in class?" he asked between making face at the potion. I shook my head

"This is more important." He smiled wide at me. I stayed with him until dinner time. Pansy had rushed back in as soon as classes ended and I was happy to see Draco's smile faded just a little when he saw her. Deciding I had hogged him enough for one day I said goodbye and left her alone with him.

At the Slytherin table a big group of them were all talking about the injured little blondie. Each had their own version of the story but all were annoyed with our new professor. Almost as soon as I sat down everyone looked to me. They were expecting an update on his injuries I suppose

"So, how is he?" Daphne asked as everyone stopped to listen

"He's… okay. The gash is going away but he's still in pain…" The look on my face was of worry so everyone thought that meant he was worse off than I said. It's not that he was but that he made everything seem like it was worse. If he'd gotten a paper cut Draco would've thought he was going to bleed out…

Back in dungeon things were the same. I went up to my room and looked over the Arithmancy notes I had taken. I talked to Daphne for a while too, but not about anything of meaning. Pansy was still not back so Draco was most likely still in the hospital wing. With just three of us in the room Millicent was never so confused. She looked like she wanted to join our conversation a few times but didn't think Pansy would've allowed it. But since Pansy wasn't here there was no actual person to stop her. She wasn't used to making her own decisions

After a while it turned late but I didn't feel like sleeping. So, I did what I always did in this situation. I went down to the common room and took a book with me. Down there, I read for some time, losing myself in the pages. It was around eleven when Pansy and Draco stumbled in. Crabbe and Goyle saw them and rushed over to help Draco. Although Pansy insisted on wanting to help too Draco shooed her away and Crabbe and Goyle took him upstairs. I waited for Pansy to leave and followed them once she was up the stairs.

I knocked once I got to Draco's room and Theodore opened the door. He didn't look surprised to see me and stepped aside so I could go in. Draco was lying in bed swatting at Crabbe and Goyle with his good arm as they offered him sweets. I found the scene endearing

"How's the arm" I asked and walked over to him.

"Almost lost it" he answered as if trying to sound brave. Crabbe and Goyle bought it, their eyes widened in response. Theodore rolled his eyes at him and went to his own bed. "Madam Pomfrey said it was horrible"

"Draco, I was there…" His eyes widened for a second as he remembered and smiled. I wasn't as gullible as Pansy when it came to him. "Now, why don't we try again? How's the arm?"

"Not too bad" he smiled and lay back down. "It does hurt though"

"I'm sure it does" I said and sat next to his arm again. "You should get some rest. But if you need anything call, okay?"

"Read me a bedtime story" It wasn't a question and I laughed. Draco frowned at me. "What? You said anything"

"You've got eyes, read one yourself" I told him and pulled pillow from behind his head, making it slam against the bed. I saw the rest of boys' eyes widen a little as I remembered I was the only one who treated Draco like this. Everyone else was too scared of him and his family to even try. But I was special

"Don't tell me what to do" he grumbled and put the pillow back behind his head. I saw his cheeks were a little pink

"Alright, sorry" I apologized for his behalf. "Have sweet dreams" I kissed his cheek. He kept a serious face and nodded but his blush betrayed him. I walked out and down to common room again. As I did I crossed paths with Draco's other roomie Blaise as he made his way up to the room. I waved to him and went to my own. Pansy was waiting outside the door

"Where were you?!" she shrieked when she saw me

"I was in Draco's room" I answered but flipped my hair dramatically so she would think I was lying

"Very funny but I was just there" she lied

"Funny how we didn't run into each other isn't it" I commented and went to my bed. Lev was sleeping at the foot of it

"You think you're so cute –"

"A little yeah" I interrupted her and lay down on the bed. She made aggravated sound and marched off to her own. "Goodnight" I called out to her and she threw a pillow at me in response. I had almost forgotten how much fun it was to mess with people. I mentally thanked Pansy for making me remember that and fell asleep soon enough.


	49. Double Potions

It had been a few days now since Draco's accident and a lot of thing had changed. Draco had complained to his father and Mr. Malfoy was not happy. He had also decided that he was some kind of hero for putting up with such a devastating injury. I thought he was full of it but who was I to tell him not to do that. I had done it myself quite a few times when I was younger. My guess is he got the idea from me.

Thursday morning I got some interesting news about our Care of Magical Creatures class during breakfast. I was immediately upset. Thanks to Draco's injury they would be making a few changes to it. I didn't want any changes. Annoyed I decided to have a little talk with Draco before class. Luckily I knew exactly where he was. He had been staying in his room, not even bothering to go to classes, since the day he came back from the hospital wing. I marched off to his room not at all pleased.

"Well I hope you're happy!" I said as I stormed into Draco's room

"I am, thank you" he answered. He lay comfortably on his bed, his "good" arm behind his head. After the first day I could tell that he was fine. I didn't have to worry anymore and now I was just upset.

"Because of your little lie we're only doing _safe_ things in Care of Magic Creatures from now on. It's going to be boring now!"

"Well good!" he said and sat up. "That means you won't be hurt like I was"

"Oh please, we both know that was your own fault. You insulted Buckbeak when Professor Hagrid told you not to"

"Don't call that buffoon Professor" he frowned

"Well whether you like it or not he is our professor, Draco. And thanks to this," I grabbed his injured arm, "I can't do fun things in his class anymore"

"You should spend a little less time nagging me and a little more time healing. I'm hurt" he pouted. I rolled my eyes. He should know better than to try that on me

"Please! I'm the one who taught you this trick!"

"Oh yeah…" he said to himself with an impish smile playing on his face. I rolled my eyes again

"Look, do whatever you want. You want to keep faking it, fine, that's up to you. But don't mess up any of my other classes okay" I pouted a little too

"Like I could possibly make Arithmancy any more boring than it already is" he teased. I took the pillow from his bed and hit him with it. He laughed and I did too. The door flew open and someone started walking in with a tray of food

"Oh Draco I brought you your –" Pansy stopped when she saw me. "What is _she_ doing here?

"I was just leaving" I told her and got up

"Going to make me a batch of those Russian Tea Cookies?" he asked with a smile. Sandies were his favorite treat

"Sure, when you can tell me the difference between the Agrippan and Chaldean methods of Arithmancy." He scowled and I smirked. Pansy started looking carefully between the two of us. "Seriously, though. Please at least come to Potions today"

"Fine" he grumbled and I beamed.

"Thank you" I kissed his cheek and rushed out of the room as Pansy made a hideous noise at me. Or maybe that was just her normal speaking voice; it was so hard to tell sometimes

After I left I headed straight into Double Potions. It was still a little early but I sat in my usual spot, waiting for class to begin. Professor Snape looked over at me every once in a while but didn't look bothered that I was there. I smiled at him in greeting and turned to my textbook. I had read most of it already, past what we needed to know, but I kept reading anyway. I found potions very interesting. It was one of my most favorite forms of magic.

It wasn't long before students started flooding in; class must be starting soon. Among them I saw Pansy walking in with Crabbe and Goyle, having just returned from Draco's room. She gave me an arrogant look before sitting down in her usual seat next to Millicent. I turned back to my book uninterested in picking a fight with her. It did bother me that she sat next to Millicent so quickly; like she didn't think Draco would keep his promise to me. Well technically he hadn't promised but I didn't think he would lie. Then again…

Crabbe sat next to me on the table, setting up his cauldron to get ready for class. He and Goyle both looked worried about Draco and I smiled at them, putting my book down. Even though he was pushy and rude to them sometimes they were close and I knew that all three of them cared about each other. I reminded them that Draco was faking it and they relaxed a little. They were big brutes but they were also sweet. Soon Professor Snape got the class started and told us about the new potion we would be working on, a Shrinking Solution.

We got halfway through potions class and I was about to give up on Draco showing up when he finally walked through the door. His arm was still wrapped in bandages and he was acting like he was still hurt but I smiled at him. I looked over at Pansy who was too worried to be upset he had listened to me after all. She asked if he was okay almost as soon as he walked through the door. She grimaced at his arm and I rolled my eyes. He pretended like it hurt but winked at the boys sitting next to me once she turned around.

He'd never admit it to her but I knew he didn't like Pansy. She annoyed him more than he let on when he was around her. Draco just liked the attention and she certainly gave that to him. I felt a little sorry for her since I knew how obsessed with him she was. If she wasn't such a pain I would've probably felt worse. Still, it was her fault for being so obsessed. I loved Draco and all but I didn't see why she was that way with him. He was just a boy.

Professor Snape told the class to settle down and Draco went to sit next to Harry and Ron. Since we hadn't ben sure if he was going to show up or not Daphne had taken the seat next to me. He didn't look too upset that she was there and instead focused on the two boys next to him. I saw a small but wicked smile on his face and I sighed. I figured he wouldn't do much his first day back but by the look on his face I could tell he wasn't going to do anything but bother the two Gryffindors for today's lesson.

Draco made a point to annoy Harry and Ron for as much as he could. He even got Professor Snape to make them cut his ingredients for him too. I think Draco just wanted to see how far he could take this injury thing. I tried to ignore them but couldn't help my curiosity when they started to whisper.

I kept looking back at them without meaning to. Maybe it hadn't been such a good idea for Draco to come to class today. The only distraction I got was by Neville. His potion wasn't going so well and Professor Snape was not happy. He found it irritating that Neville couldn't do it right but it wasn't the poor boy's fault. Neville was easily scared and especially by our professor. He was a like a puppy, well not my puppy but one that was intimidated easily.

"Orange. Tell me boy, does anything penetrate that thick skull of yours?" our professor said looking at Neville's potion. I felt bad for him; potions wasn't for everyone... He turned pink and started trembling as Professor Snape spoke. He was near tears, the poor thing. Hermione tried to help but Snape wasn't having it. He insisted that Neville needed to learn and that at the end of the lesson he would feed a few drops of his potion to Neville's toad. He was left looking terrified as Professor Snape walked away

I would've gone over to talk to him or something but a Gryffindor's comment stopped me. I stayed sill as he informed Harry that Sirius Black had been spotted nearby. It wasn't just that it scared me he was near but that the boy would be telling this to Harry of all people. Black was the man who killed his parents, I didn't want to think about what that would make him want to do. It didn't help that Draco kept commenting on it. But from their conversation it didn't look like Harry understood what he was saying.

"Don't you _know_, Potter?" Draco narrowed his eyes, finding this too funny. Harry didn't know. He didn't know that Black was the reason he had never truly known his parents. I gave Draco a warning look. If Harry didn't know Draco shouldn't be the one telling him. He didn't notice my look and kept talking. Talking about revenge

"_What are you talking about" _Harry said angrily before we were sidetracked by our professor. He mentioned to everyone that we should all be done adding our ingredients by now and that the potion should stew before it could be drunk. Crabbe and Goyle laughed looking at Neville so worried. I absentmindedly swatted at Crabbe's arm but was too distracted by Draco. I left my place and walked over to him

"Hey," he said cheerfully as he looked at me over his cauldron.

"Hey," replied too quickly catching his attention.

"What's with you?" he asked, stirring his potion a little. "I came to class like you wanted"

"You didn't tell Harry, about Black, did you?" My voice came out strict. He sighed and rolled his eyes

"Why do you care so much about Potter? What's he to you?" Draco asked sounding a little annoyed

"Please answer the question." He rolled his eyes again

"No alright I didn't tell him that –" I cut him off with a look. "I didn't and I won't, alright. That'd be no fun anyway. I still don't see what your problem is…" he whined but I relaxed. Soon Professor Snape called us to see Neville's toad drink his potion. This seemed to cheer Draco up and he quickly walked over to them. I followed shaking my head. It was obvious who was in what house even without looking at the robes. Most Slytherins looked exited while all Gryffindors looked fearful.

Silence held the room as our professor took a hold of Trevor, the toad. He gave some of the potion to him and all Gryffindors cheered as he turned into a tadpole. I couldn't help but giggle at the disappointed faces of Draco and the boys. Professor Snape turned Trevor back into a toad but his face not happy.

"Five points from Gryffindor," he told them. All their smiles disappeared. "I told you not to help him, Miss Granger. Class dismissed."


	50. Lakeside

September passed quickly as I grew accustomed to the pattern of my third year classes. The Defense Against the Dark Arts professor had gotten very popular in school. Professor Lupin seemed like a nice enough guy and he was a much better teacher than Lockhart had been. Draco didn't like him, not that it surprised me. He kept complaining about the state of his robes and how a professor should have more pride than to wear something like that. I wasn't too thrilled with his choice of words but I just shrugged it off, that's just how Draco was.

Professor Snape didn't look like he liked Professor Lupin either. Apparently during a practical lesson with Gryffindor, Neville had made a boggart look like the professor and then proceeded to dress him in his grandmother's clothes. I'm sure it would've been entertaining to watch if I had been there but I could understand why our professor wasn't happy.

Professor Lupin certainly did teach us more in class. He went over Boggarts, Red Caps, and Kappas all in that first month. Not a bad class, unlike Care of Magical Creatures. It had ended up more boring than I had imagined. It was still nice working with different creatures but I continued to give Draco looks, reminding him that it was his fault. He grinned at me.

Arithmancy and Study of Ancient Runes were amazing. They were the most challenging classes I had ever taken, and the ones that I never regretted signing up for. They both taught me so much, not just information but how to exercise my patience. Since Crabbe and Goyle had taken Arithmancy without actually knowing what it was they never expected it to be as challenging as it was. I constantly had to sit down with them and explain to them why there was more than one method and why they needed to learn both. It was a lot more work dealing with them than the actual class.

Time was flying by and as October began the Quidditch season got nearer. I walked to the Black Lake with Fred and George by my side. We had decided to spend some time together today. Thankfully it hadn't rained but it was still pretty chilly out. Winter was definitely coming and I was just grateful that I had a somewhat high tolerance for the cold.

"I think this is a good spot" George commented as he fell onto the cold grass. I smiled and sat next to him, carefully placing my robes directly under me to protect me from any unwanted shivers. It felt like such a long time since I had seen my favorite twins and I was really missing them. Their cheerful smiles and playful demeanor always got me in a good mood.

They were both tired as their captain, Oliver Wood, kept making them practice for long periods of time. From past years I had seen how he would push them near their breaking point. Oliver had always asked them to practice more than I thought was fair. I understood that he was worried about the Quidditch Cup, since this was his last year and all, but still. This was one of the only days the twins had been given to relax since the beginning of October and they looked exhausted. It made me feel a little special that they chose to spend it with me instead of their other friends. Then again, none of their other friends were in Slytherin…

"This year is going to be rough" George groaned next to me. It must be frustrating having to deal with the stress of trying to win the cup. If it were me I would've probably quit the team by now. Not so much because of the stress but mostly because I didn't like being bossed around all the time

"You wouldn't happen to have any more evil plans up your sleeve would you?" Fred asked. He was sitting directly in front of me leaning in. George looked down at me from my side. Both looked hopeful but I shook my head.

"No sorry." Fred looked down disappointed but George smiled anyway. "Don't worry I'm sure you'll do great"

"Yeah I guess..." Fred grumbled and I smiled. I looked to the lake to see the giant squid's tentacles slightly sticking out of the top of the waters. He was a large and surely dangerous creature but it was so cute at the same time. I had seen it swim around several times from the windows in the dungeon. Maybe I just had a thing for dangerous creatures…

Fred and George talked amongst themselves as I continued to let my mind wander. I liked that they never looked upset that I did this. A lot of people were bothered by that side of me but I couldn't help it. I had tried many times when I was younger, to stop my mind from wandering whenever I could, but I eventually gave up. That was just another side of me that I would have to hide from people and I had enough of those as it was. I joined in on the twins' chat from time to time but mostly just sat back and enjoyed my time doing nothing with them.

"Hey!" someone called from a little ways ahead of me. I sat up and looked over Fred's shoulder to see who it was

"Oh hey" I called back noticing the angry voice had come from Draco. "Be right back" I told the twins as I stood up and walked over to him. He had his arms crossed not happy with my company

"I don't suppose you're finding out strategic secrets from their Quidditch team" he mumbled when I reached him

"Nope" I replied cheerfully. He frowned. Not at me or my answer but to something behind me. I looked back in the direction he was to see Fred looking ahead and George staring back at Draco. Surprised, I turned back. It wasn't like George to do something like that. It was like Draco though. "So what is it?"

"I don't like them" he said ignoring my question. He was looking behind me again, peering at them. I rolled my eyes

"If you have time to come whine to me why don't you spend it doing something more useful, like studying? You're getting behind on Arithmancy"

"Am not!" he yelled and I giggled at how easily I could distract him

"Go back to the dungeon" I told his angry face. "Daphne should be in the common room; you can ask her for my notes."

"Why don't you come and give them to me" he suggested. I gave him a look and he sighed but smiled. "Fine just hurry up and come back so you can help me. I'm injured you know"

"Right, and the reason I spend so much time with you is because you're such a good person." He laughed openly at my sarcastic comment. "I will help you but when I'm done here. I have other friends besides you, you know."

"Yeah, yeah" he mumbled and left. I happily turned back to Fred and George. They were having some sort of quiet conversation with each other. It looked like they were whispering but harshly, almost aggressively. I was curious but purposely stepped on a branch so they'd hear me coming. When they did, they stopped talking about whatever it was they had been talking about and George looked up to me. I smiled as I closed the rest of the distance between us and sat back down next to him.

"So what did that prick want?" he mumbled when I was settled in my spot. If I didn't know any better I would've thought he looked upset. I ignored the comment, though. Draco had certainly called them worse

"He wanted to know if I would help him with one of our classes"

"But you stayed instead?" Fred asked and I nodded. This seemed to cheer up George.

"I spend time with him every day and I barely see you two anymore" I answered wrapping my arms around my knees. It was getting colder the later it got and I was mentally scolding myself for not bringing warmer robes

"We have a solution to that" George smirked down at me. "Just ask to be moved to Gryffindor" I laughed, clearly they had to be kidding. But when I stopped they weren't laughing

"Are you serious?" I asked. They nodded. "You know that's not possible, right? Even if I wanted to, I was sorted into Slytherin and this is where I belong"

"So you don't want to..." George looked a little hurt at my remark. I hoped he didn't take that personally; if I wanted a reason to be in Gryffindor it'd be them

"Slytherin isn't so bad. I like it there. Sure some of the people have some issues but hey who doesn't" I shrugged but they weren't convinced

"I don't know why you'd want to be there. It's in a dungeon, for crying out loud!" George complained but I laughed again.

"It's actually rather nice down there. And no offence but I wouldn't want to live in a tower. I'm not a morning person and waking up to the sun in my eyes isn't very good for me." I frowned thinking about home. There, my room was on the top floor and every morning I woke up to the sun burning through the curtains and into my eyelids. I had tried to convince parents to let me move to one of the other rooms but they refused. The rest of the rooms were apparently too small and it would've looked bad if I stayed in one of those.

"You there, Kitty?" George waved a hand in front of my face. I blinked a few times as I snapped back to reality and they chuckled.

"So are you excited about Hogsmeade?" Fred asked changing the subject

"Yes!" I threw my arms up in excitement but quickly pulled them back down. Fred and George thought it was funny but if my mother had seen it she would've flipped. She cared a lot about conduct and me being ladylike. She was very superficial in that way but that's my mum

"Where do you want to go? We could show you around" George offered

"It's okay I'm sure you have other friends who want to go with you." Those two were very popular, not just in Gryffindor but in general. "Besides I promised Draco we'd go together"

"Oh" George mumbled but Fred nodded

"Still if you change your mind you know where to find us" Fred said looking carefully at his brother. I nodded but couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong. Fred must have noticed George was acting different too. So it wasn't just my imagination…

The twins walked me down to the dungeon entrance before climbing up the stairs to their own room. I entered and after a quick scan of the Slytherin common room I made my way up to Draco's room. He was sitting on his bed, my notes spread out in front of him. Theodore was on his bed, studying for one of his classes too. He looked up at me and smiled before turning back down to his book. I liked him, he was quiet but quite nice once you got him talking. Draco noticed me too and scooted some things around so there was room for me on his bed.

"How do you even know what this says?" he complained as I took my seat

"What do you mean? I don't have bad writing!" I whined and started to take my notes back from him. He shook his head and chuckled

"I meant the things not the writing, idiot. Someone is sensitive today" he teased. I stuck out my tongue at him and he sighed. "You okay?"

"Yeah, why?" I asked

"You're acting, strange…"

"I always act strange" I reminded him but he shook his head

"No, I mean – Never mind." He sighed again and turned back down to my notes. I helped him study some of the more complex equations that we had been given and it did help him some. Not a lot but more than he would've managed on his own. After all his roommates stumbled back into the room I said goodnight to them and walked to my bed. Hopefully I'd get a good night's sleep


	51. Books and Bridges

Some time passed and Halloween morning I took a little detour into the library before breakfast. I had heard of an interesting book about different magical creatures and beings, _Tails,_ and I wanted to see if it was there. If it wasn't then I could just buy it while at Hogsmeade today. I walked straight towards Madam Pince and asked her if she had it. To my relief she said yes and helped me look for it. However after a few minutes Madam Pince gave me a frustrated sigh

"Someone else must have it" she mumbled to herself. "These children should at least have the decency of announcing the books they take off my shelves. No one has any manners these days!"

"It's okay. Thank you anyway Madam Pince." I was a little sad about it but what could I do. She nodded once then went on her way to scold some students who were obviously not here to study. Since I still had some time before breakfast, and I was sure Draco wasn't even awake yet, I sat down on one of the tables set up around the library. I stretched still not completely awake and looked around the room at the other students here.

By the look of their robes the only other people in the library seemed to be Ravenclaws. Most of them had notes out around them like they were either studying or doing work for fun. As much as I liked reading I couldn't imagine spending my extra time studying. None of them looked up from their books or paid any attention to the constantly scolding librarian. My guess was they were used to it. Among the sea of books I saw one that caught my eye and stood up.

A girl with long blonde hair was sitting at the edge of the library reading my book. Okay it wasn't my book but I wanted to read it too… When I reached her I sat on the seat adjacent to hers but she didn't even glance in my direction. Her big grey eyes stayed on the pages of my book as she flipped through the pages faster than I knew she could read them. I would've said something to her but I couldn't shake the feeling that something was… off about her. She was pretty and didn't look dangerous but there was just something… different?

"Oh hello" she spoke when she finally noticed me. Her voice was dreamy but I had a feeling it had nothing to do with how early it was. Her smile seemed innocent enough too but I couldn't shake the feeling something was not right about her. "May I help you?"

"Um, yeah, actually. I was wondering when you were going to finish that" I said warmly, pointing to the book. She looked down at it as if she didn't understand my words. The book closed suddenly and she frowned at me. It wasn't an angry expression but it still caught me off guard

"Finish it how exactly?" she asked tilting her head. I mirrored her expression unintentionally. Was she serious or was she purposely trying to confuse me

"Are you finished reading the book…" I asked carefully

"Well I never really started so your question is irrelevant." I blinked a few times surprised again. Not so much at her words but at the tone she said them in. It was so calm and gentle… Well let's just say I wasn't used to people behaving in such a way. She slid the book towards me either disregarding my expression or not noticing it. Obviously she was different but something about her robes kept bothering me…

"Are you not wearing shoes?" I said finally realizing what was missing. I looked under the table to confirm that she in fact wasn't wearing any. That wasn't the only thing that was strange. Her whole look was so different from that of everyone else here that I was surprised I hadn't noticed sooner. My mother would've had a fit if she had seen her

"Oh, yes. I seemed to have misplaced them" she smiled and I couldn't help but laugh a little. She didn't take any offence to it and simply kept on smiling. I liked her

"I'm Katerina, by the way" I said extending my hand. She shook it and nodded

"I'm Luna" she answered as I took the book from the table.

"Well it was nice meeting you" I told her and stood from the table. Luna nodded and smiled at me as I began to walk away.

"Wait" she called. I turned back to her still sitting on the chair. For a second I thought I had imagined her voice but she spoke again. "Do all Slytherin read?" I snickered at her words. Her face stayed dreamy as she patiently waited for my reply. This girl had to be the strangest person I had ever met.

"No" I answered honestly. "Not all of them do." Luna nodded to herself before turning to look around the library. I smiled to myself as I walked to find Madam Pince. She let me take the book but not before reminding me several times that books were not toys. I gave her a smile before taking the book down to my room.

I thought about Luna as I walked to the Great Hall for breakfast. There were so many odd things about her. Quirky. That was the word I had been looking for. She was quirky. I sat with my usual group as everyone chatted about Hogsmeade excitedly. It sort of overshadowed any other possible conversation that might have come up. Pansy looked annoyed and I could only guess it was because Draco had told her he wouldn't be spending time with her today. After we finished eating everyone lined up by the Entrance Hall.

Draco stood by my side as Filch signed off everyone's names. He looked suspicious of everyone who walked past. He wasn't a very trusting person. Crabbe and Goyle were behind us as usual. All they had been able to talk about for days was Honeydukes and everything they would be getting. Farther ahead in line I saw Daphne with Lev and Theodore. My pup had wanted to come along so I let Daphne take him. Since I was spending the day with Draco it didn't seem like a very fun idea to have Lev barking at him the whole day

"Staying here, Potter?" Draco shouted at Harry. He was standing alone, watching everyone else leave. Hermione had told me that he hadn't had time to get his papers signed by the Muggles he lived with. "Scared of passing the Dementors?"

Harry ignored the little blondie and went to the stairs. Draco looked satisfied with himself as we walked to the bridge. Crabbe and Goyle were persuaded to go on ahead and Draco and I stayed back. We were the last people in line, only Filch behind us. He made a face at all the students and closed the main doors behind him. Further ahead the closest person to us was still several feet away. It was slightly windy but besides that it was nice weather. For no reason at all I had an urge to get up on the ledge and walk on it. So I did

"What are you doing?" Draco screamed as I pushed myself onto the ledge. It took a second for me to find my balance but I managed.

"Don't be such a Debbie Downer, Deedee" I laughed and started walking away, still on the ledge. I heard his footsteps as he walked after me

"Stubborn brat" he grumbled as he chased after me. "Get down"

"No!" I whined and stick out my tongue at him. He kept towards me but I stopped, making him speed a few feet ahead before he noticed I wasn't there anymore. I stopped so suddenly that I almost fell. I caught my balance in time and started laughing at myself when I saw his face.

"Get _down_" he yelled at me.

"If you're so scared I'm going to fall then hold my hand" I teased holding it out for him. I wiggled my fingers and he frowned at them. When he didn't take it I grinned and walked away. He caught up to me though and walked right beside me. Then he did something that surprised me; he took hold of my hand. I looked down at him wide eyed.

"Shut up!" Draco stared ahead and I could see the blush start to form on his cheeks. I grinned and looked ahead too. On the way I saw Daphne look back at us then turn to frown at Theodore.

It didn't take long before we got to Hogsmeade. It was a lovely place with lots of little shops and nice places to visit. We spent the day buying lots of things we didn't need and had a good time doing it. At Honeydukes I made sure to get plenty of sweets for my puppy. I probably shouldn't give him so many but I couldn't help but spoil him. After a little while Draco bought us some butterbeer at The Three Broomsticks. Daphne and Theodore found us there and we sat together for a while. They had bought plenty of things themselves while on the trip. My puppy looked happy to be back at my side and quickly jumped out of Daphne's arms and onto my lap much to Theodore's relief and Draco's annoyance.

"So what did you get?" I asked Daphne between sips. In her arms she had several small bags from different shops in Hogsmeade. She smiled at me and got out her things. Daphne had bought some sweets and a jumper from a clothing shop nearby

"Oh and these" she grinned pulling out broaches and other unnecessary hair accessories. "I got them from this little hairdressing salon in front of Honeydukes."

"What about you, Theo?" I said to the very serious boy next to her. He really wasn't much of a talker and I knew he wouldn't have said anything unless asked

"Well I – wait what?" he said looking up from his drink suddenly

"Can I call you Theo?" I asked guessing that was what had surprised him

"You're going to anyway aren't you" he sighed. I smiled at him and he rolled his eyes. "Go ahead then"

"Can I call you that too?" Daphne asked batting her eyelashes at him. Theo frowned at her making us laugh. He probably hated the idea and rather she didn't. But since he knew _I_ would call him whatever I wanted either way he agreed.

"Let's go" Draco asked me more than said. I nodded and took my last sip of the butterbeer. Once outside we met up with Crabbe and Goyle who had only just now excited Honeydukes. Each had with them bags that looked like they weighed about as much as I did. However heavy they did look quite content with their find and happily walked back to Hogwarts with the rest of us.


	52. Intruder

"How can you two eat this much?" Daphne teased as Crabbe and Goyle continued to fill their faces with food. In the common room they had most of the sweets they had bought this morning laid out in front of them. I laughed as Lev took a piece from Crabbe's pile and growled when he tried to take it back. The Halloween feast had ended and we were all piled back in the dungeon. It had been a good feast like always and my stomach was more than satisfied.

I pulled my puppy onto my lap and stroked his head. He was getting bigger now but he was still small enough to be called a pup. Lev continued to eat the Jelly Slug he had stolen while I put my attention on _Tails,_ the book I had gotten from Luna. She was a very peculiar person but in a charming way. And it was nice of her to give me this book. It saved me the trouble of having to look for it at Hogsmeade where instead I spent some time with Draco. He complained about going into all the different shops I dragged him into but I knew he secretly loved it.

"Don't you ever get sick of reading?" Draco asked scooting closer to me. Lev didn't even bother growling at him as he got off my lap and went over to Daphne who was waving a chocolate wand at him. That puppy sure loved chocolate. She gave me a wicked smile before turning to Blaise who was staring at my pup cautiously. I looked back at Draco realizing I still hadn't answered him and smiled apologetically. He rolled his eyes. "What's this one about?"

"It talks about a number of different magical creatures and little things about each of them" I said excitedly

"Let me guess, they all have tails?" he mocked looking at the cover of the book. I stuck out my tongue at him and turned back down to my book. So far yes they all had tails but I wasn't going to tell him that. Draco chuckled quietly next to me as he started reading over my shoulder. I flipped the pages quickly just to bother him but stopped when I spotted a familiar picture. On the page was the figure of a horse with vast leathery wings and sharp fangs. "That is one ugly horse"

I didn't even fake a smile at Draco's comment as I looked through the words by the image. The creature was called a Thestral. It looked just like the horses I had seen pulling the carriages into school. It had never crossed my mind that it would be something… real. I had honestly thought that somehow I had come up with that image and that the carriages were actually charmed to move on their own. Nobody else could see them so why could only I? I had a wild enough imagination that it wasn't completely impossible for me to imagine the whole thing… Except…

"It can only be seen by those who have witnessed death…" My eyes went a little wide at the realization. That's why I could see it. That was why it would stare at me and ignore the others. They couldn't see it, I could. They hadn't seen death… I had.

"Katerina!" Daphne's voice called snapping me back to reality. I looked up to see several worried faces staring down at me. I blinked and rubbed my eyes. I wasn't tired but for some reason I really needed to do that. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah… Yes, I'm fine." A few of the people who had been around me nodded to themselves and went back to whatever they had been doing. Draco, Daphne, Crabbe, Goyle and Theodore all kept looking at me. My face must have still been thinking about those creatures, betraying me.

"Are you sure?" Daphne asked handing me my book. I had dropped it when my mind had left me I suppose

"Yes, I'm sure. I'm fine, really" I insisted. Only three looked affected as Daphne and Draco continued to stare, not believing me.

"Are you sure?" Draco asked frowning and eyeing me carefully. I sighed and was about to make a sarcastic comment when I was interrupted

"She's sure!" Pansy screamed from behind them. "She's fine! There are plenty of more interesting things to talk about! Why is everyone so focused on her? She does this all the time!" Daphne rolled her eyes and Draco grinned but both of them sat back down and changed the subject. After a little while of mindless chatter someone came for us. Every student in Slytherin was called out and taken up to the Great Hall. I pulled my puppy up into my arms and followed the rest of them out of the dungeon

"The teachers and I need to conduct a thorough search of the castle" Professor Dumbledore informed us once we were there. The doors to the Great Hall were closed and apparently we would be spending the night there, for our own safety. Something was obviously going on as the prefects were all put in charge of the doors and Professor Dumbledore himself wanted to be informed of anything happening. He waved his wand giving us a number of sleeping bags to choose from. Whatever this was, it wasn't good. "Sleep well."

Professor Dumbledore exited the hall and closed the doors behind him. There was uproar of exited voices as the students discussed a number of different explanations for this. None were even close to what really happened. Gryffindor told all the other students how the Fat Lady had vanished from her portrait in fear of Sirius Black. He had tried to get into the Gryffindor common room. He was in the castle. I looked around to distract myself and, in one of the little groups of people still hearing the story, I saw Fred and George.

The twins were talking animatedly at those crowding them, happy to share their experience. Before long their quick summary had turned into a somewhat elaborate skit. From their movement Fred, I assumed, had taken on the role of Sirius and George was playing the Fat Lady. Though I doubt they saw it actually occur Fred began swinging at George with an invisible knife. George, who played the role quite convincingly from my angle, put his hands up to his face in defense and pretended to shriek in fear. I giggled a little just before George caught my eye. He paused from his scream and smiled at me making Fred hit him for real; whether that was accidental or not I was unsure. They began to get into an actual fight when Draco cleared his throat, making me turning to him. He was frowning slightly and I gave him a small smile before turning away again

I stood and headed straight into a corner of the hall, Lev followed. In his mouth was the edge of one of the sleeping bags, I had forgotten to get one. I smiled at my puppy and continued to walk. When we reached the corner we stopped but I still heard shuffling. I turned to see that the rest of my usual group had followed me to the corner. Well Draco and Daphne had, the rest were probably following them. Draco raised his eyebrows at me, a silent question, and I gave him a weak smile. He nodded then put his sleeping bag next to mine. I sank into mine and sat cross legged leaving a spot for Lev to sit in.

"This can't be a coincidence" Theodore was the first to speak. "Sirius Black shows up and he just happens to head straight for the Gryffindor tower?"

"He probably got lost and figured that the higher he went the easier it would be to tell where he was" Daphne tried to understand, frowning. It occurred to me then that not many of their parents talked to them like mine and Draco's did to us. We knew things that the adults tried to hide from other kids our age. I didn't know if I should feel special that my father shared this information with me or sad that maybe he just didn't care if it upset me. I wished it was the first

"I don't buy it," Theo insisted. "I think he was looking for someone. Someone in particular..." The boy was a smart cookie.

"Doesn't matter why he got in" Draco interrupted their conversation. My head was down but I had a feeling he was looking at me. "The question is _how_. How did he get past the Dementors?"

Everyone shuddered a little at the thought of those creatures. But Draco was right. It didn't matter why he got in so much as how he managed to do it. If he found a method he could come back whenever he wanted. If he was after Harry and managed to get him what was to stop him from hurting anyone else. Someone needed to find out how he got in, if they didn't, then no one was safe.

"He wore a disguise?" Goyle asked more than anything. I had to smile at how simple this all seemed for him. There was no disguise out there that could hide someone from a Dementor not to mention heaps of them.

"He obviously used Apparate. That's the only way he could've gotten past the Dementors" Pansy said smugly, proud that she knew so much. Too bad for her, she was wrong

"No, that's not it" I informed her truthfully. She scowled at me but I had more things on my mind to worry about. It had explained it all in _Hogwarts, A History._ It's a book that Hermione recommended, or rather insisted, I read. "The castle is protected by all sorts of charms and enchantments. He couldn't have just used Apparate; it had to have been something else." But what? How did he get in the castle?

"The lights are going out now!" Percy shouted. "I want everyone in their sleeping bags and no more talking!"

I rolled into my sleeping bag and stared up at the ceiling. It was enchanted and made to look like we were camping under the stars. I'd only gone camping a few times in my life and it had been in our backyard so they didn't really count. I had however visited Albania with my father once and had gone for a nighttime stroll under the stars. But that wasn't a happy day for my younger self… Lev curled up in a ball by my side. I patted his head gently trying hard not to think about what had happened then or what was happening now.

"Stop it" I heard someone whisper next to me. I turned to see Draco lying next to me and scowling. It reminded me of the day we had that sleepover after my birthday party. I smiled at him.

"Stop what?" I asked turning back to the ceiling.

"Stop worrying so much" he said a little louder. I smiled again and closed my eyes. Lev had fallen asleep in my arms already. I could feel Draco's stare but chose to ignore it. Yes I was worried but I had reason to be. If they didn't catch him soon there might be death. A few more people would be able to see the Thestrals too… They couldn't find him soon enough. As if reading my mind he added "Just go to sleep, they'll catch him."


	53. Werewolves

The students talked of nothing but Sirius for days after he appeared at the castle. Some were still working on why he was here. Others were more focused on how he got inside. Either way he became the center of attention among the students. Even the teachers were worried about him and his intentions. They were all following Harry, finding any excuse to walk him to class. It looked really annoying; I didn't know how he put up with it…

On a happier note, the first Quidditch match was set for Saturday and it couldn't come sooner. For me anyway, Draco wasn't as excited as I. Then again, he was the one who had to play through the horrible weather we had been having lately. I was half expecting him to have come up with an excuse not to play but so far, nothing.

"Are you sure you should play Draco?" Pansy asked batting her eyes and pouting at him. We were in the common room wasting time until our Defense Against the Dark Arts class began. The weather was getting worse and with the first game being this Saturday Draco didn't look too thrilled about playing. "The weather is bad; surely you could find a way to get them to cancel"

"I'm not scared of a little rain" he huffed but I knew he was lying. He didn't like having to work for things and the weather certainly looked like it wanted him to work. If he wasn't so proud and admitted it maybe Dumbledore would've been kind and let them trade with another house. On the wall the clock informed us that it was almost time for class so we stood up.

"Must be difficult seeing as you're 'injured' and all" I said sarcastically grabbing my book bag.

"I am, aren't I" he commented with a gleam in his eye. I knew that look

"Oh no, Draco" I called but he was gone, up the stairs to the boys' rooms. I sighed and walked to class by myself. I walked in to find Professor Snape in Professor Lupin's place. The rest of the Slytherin students who were already in class were too happy to question why he was there. Figuring he'd just explain it to us I sat down and got my materials out.

"Hey" Draco grinned and sat next to me. He barely made it in time for class and I could only guess what he had done with the comment I gave him.

"Whatever that was, it was not my idea" I warned him but he smiled. At the head of the class Professor Snape began the lesson. He informed us that he would be teaching today but didn't bother to explain why. Although in all fairness no one bothered to ask. Since Professor Lupin had forgotten to tell our other professor where we had left off he decided to just skip ahead to page 394, Werewolves

"I don't suppose any of you can tell me the difference between a true wolf and a werewolf" our professor said more than asked as he walked around the classroom making sure everyone was in the right page. Nobody raised their hand at the question. We weren't anywhere near this part of the book yet and I only vaguely remember skimming through this part. "No one knows?"

"I might, sir" I said slowly raising my hand. Everyone, and I mean everyone, in the classroom turned to look at me. Some gave me curious looks as others, like Pansy, looked almost cynical. I ignored her and turned to our professor. "I don't know if it's right but…"

"Go on" he said in a calm tone. I sighed and tried my best to remember what I'd read

"Werewolves look just like regular wolves except for some of their features. Their snouts are shorter and their eyes look more human than not… They also have a habit of attacking humans even when not provoked." That was all I could remember but hopefully it was enough.

"Very good, Miss Volkov" our professor said with an approving nod before walking to the front of the class again. "I'm glad _someone_ could manage to learn something with such an incompetent teacher. Twenty points to Slytherin"

I smiled wide happy I got it right. Sometimes it paid off to know random facts. The rest of the class had a mixture of impressed looks and resentful stares. There were two kinds of people I suppose. Draco gave me a half smile and raised his eyebrows. I smiled back before turning back to our professor for the rest of the class.

"You will each write an essay on the ways you recognize and kill werewolves. I think one roll of parchment on the subject will suffice. It is to be handed in to me by Monday. But an arrangement could be made if you need extra time seeing as your professor hasn't done a proper job of teaching." With that our class was dismissed.

"I guess it's a good thing I'm not playing this Saturday" Draco began smirking at me. My eyes narrowed instinctively

"I don't even want to know" I shook my head. He laughed and followed me out of the classroom. Some days passed and I found out what Draco's little plan had been. Because of his injury it wouldn't have been fair for our House team so they were allowed to switch the match with another house. Hufflepuff was given the first match instead and I sighed at the little blondie

Saturday morning the storm hit. It was muffled by the water of the Black Lake in the dungeon yet for some reason I couldn't sleep. I wasn't sure if it was the storm's fault or not but all I knew was it had been a couple of hours since I woke up and it was barely five in the morning. I yawned but my eyes refused to stay shut. In the common room I stared out the window as the thunder rumbled above layers of thick water.

For once, I was alone here. Everyone else was sound asleep in their rooms or just hadn't bothered coming downstairs since it was still a while before breakfast. Lev wasn't with me either. He looked so peaceful in bed that I didn't want to selfishly drag him away from it. I played with the hem of my shirt and stared down at my pyjamas. My mother had bought them for me and they were actually not bad. The top was a slouchy sweater and the trousers dragged a little on the floor but they were very warm. They were solid grey and plain but much better than the usual gaudy choices she gave me.

I laughed at my little attempt to distract myself. I was still worried about Black. My father had said I shouldn't worry but I couldn't help it. Anyone who could escape from Azkaban couldn't be some plain wizard. I knew he probably had no interest in anyone but Harry but still… I stared as the creatures swam about behind the dense glass. The water muffled it but the sounds of thunder became more violent

"What are you doing down here?" I heard someone grumble behind me

"I couldn't go back to sleep" I said not bothering to turn around to look at him. Draco grunted and made his way to the window seat I was on. He slumped down on it and rubbed his eyes tiredly. "So why are you awake?"

"Crabbe and Goyle's snoring woke me up. I couldn't go back to sleep either so I figured I'd come down here." He stretched out on the seat and his foot grazed mine. Either he didn't notice or he didn't think it was worth commenting on it.

"Great minds think alike" I said still not turning away from the window. In the reflection I saw him give me a sleepy grin. I wasn't mad or anything I just didn't want to look at him... "You must be glad you don't have to play today"

"What's with you?" he asked ignoring my comment. "You've been acting stranger than usual lately"

"I don't know" I said truthfully. "Maybe it's the full moon"

"Well stop it" he mumbled. I couldn't help but laugh at his serious tone. I found it funny whenever he tried to tell me what to do. Draco didn't look bothered by my laughter as he usually would. It was probably due to the fact that this was normal behavior for me and not the weird one I had been in lately. Truth was I didn't know what it was about. Maybe it was my sub consciousness worrying about Black. Once I stopped laughing we went back to normal. He made a snide comments and I replied with sarcastic ones. Eventually it came time and we made our way up to breakfast


	54. Five Galleons

*Okay so I've been thinking and I need a new description (or summary or whatever it's called) for this story. I never really liked the one I have now but I never took the time to change it... So if any of you have any suggestions I would _love_ to hear them. Please let me know and I'll shut up now so you can read :3*

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It was pouring rain, with furious winds, as we walked to the Quidditch field. Draco, Crabbe, and Goyle were walking a little ahead from under an enormous umbrella. It had to be big to fit all three of them. I thought it was cute how they decided to share one. I had my own that I shared with Daphne. It was cold this morning and because of that, along with the storm, I decided to leave Lev in the room. Rather than freeze out here I thought he'd enjoy it more to be inside warm and possibly destroying Pansy's things.

Daphne held the umbrella as I hugged her arm. We were both shivering a little but it was worth it to watch the match. I brought the scarf Draco gifted to me too. It was a lot warmer than it looked and I covered the bottom half of my face with it. It kept the warmth in and the cold and wet out. We made our way up to the stands and found a place in the front. With all the water in the air I wanted a closer view to see things clearer. The crowd cheered but the sound was overshadowed by the roar of thunder.

Hufflepuff was wearing their usual bright yellow robes. They approached the field as Gryffindor did too from across them. While watching them I spotted Luna in the stands who managed to stand out even with all the bright colors around her. The game started and as I got into the game Daphne started to drift off. She began talking to some people next to us and slowly slid away from me. I wasn't upset seeing as I wasn't paying much attention to her either and instead tried to make out the shapes of the players in the sky.

I leaned to my other side to join Draco under his umbrella which he had gotten instead of using the one Crabbe and Goyle had. He was a little surprised by my sudden presence. Or maybe it was that I had to squeeze a little close to him so that the umbrella could cover us both. His head turned to the side and he shook it before turning back to the game. Not taking his eyes off the players he held out his arm in front of me so that I could hug it to keep warm. He was so thoughtful... I heard the little blondie laugh as Harry almost got hit several times. Well he was thoughtful with me at least

A time out was called. All the players made their way back to the ground where they were instantly covered in mud. As they were talking, the wind picked up a little more. My scarf started flailing and pulled away from my skin. It started feeling a little loose. Before I paid too much attention to it the players got up again.

The game was going on longer than we had expected it to but it didn't take away from the excitement. The thunder persisted and along with it came the lightning. I worried as I saw one of the twins get distracted by it and almost hit by a Bludger. I shoved Draco a little when I saw the grin he was making no attempt to hide. Back in the skies Harry seemed to have spotted the Snitch.

"Bet you five Galleons Potter falls off that poor excuse of a broom" Draco sneered as the two boys beside him laughed. He looked down at me expecting a comeback which I graciously gave to him

"At least _Potter_ doesn't have to fake an injury" I said and pressed on his "injured" arm, the one I had been leaning on this whole time. He was going to retort but lightning hit again and with it a gust of strong wind came and took my scarf. I gasped and reached for it but it slipped through my fingers and away from me

I was about to push my way down to the field to see if I could think of a plan to catch it there but before I could a flash of red brought my attention up. I watched as a Gryffindor player caught my scarf midair and flew back to me with it in hand. George stopped a little in front of me and hung upside down from his broom his eyes leveled with mine. He was dripping wet, covered in mud, with my scarf in one hand and a big smile on his face. His hair, also plastered with mud, hung down from his head making it look longer than it really was. I couldn't help but smile back.

"I think you dropped something" he yelled over the roar of the wind and I beamed taking it from his hands. The scarf somehow managed to survive the mud covering almost every inch of George making me sigh with all sorts of relief.

"Thank you" I mouthed too touched to say anything else. He gave me a wicked smile and turned right side up. He casually sat on his broom floating in front of me, feet swaying back and forth as if he were a little kid. His mouth opened to say something but he didn't have time to get the words out

"OI, WEASLEY! GET BACK IN THE GAME!" Oliver Wood screamed over the noise, louder than I thought possible.

"Oh right" he said remembering we were in the middle of a game and flew back to it. I could still see his smile as he faded into the storm. There was an instant racket as students talked about what had just happened. I never understood how people can take something so trivial and make such a big deal out of it

"If he's not even going to play, why is he here?" Draco grumbled next to me as I put the damp scarf back around my neck. I rolled my eyes at him and watched as the game continued. A little above the other players Harry and Cedric were concentrating on catching the Snitch. Then he was falling.

The rest happened in a flash. Before Harry made it to the ground Professor Dumbledore stepped in and was able to soften his fall. He rid of the Dementors above and they took Harry on a stretcher into the castle and, I assumed, the hospital wing.

"You owe me five Galleons" Draco told the boys as I began to part with them. Draco held onto my arm to stop me. "Where are you going?"

"I'm going to see if Hermione is okay" I told him and tried to pull away but he wasn't having it. I scowled at him and pulled harder. "Tell Daphne to look after Lev for me, I'm going to the hospital wing."

He reached for me but I pushed my way through the crowd and ran into the castle. I had caught a glimpse of Hermione's face when she left with Harry and it wasn't pretty. She looked almost broken but I didn't blame her. Harry was her best friend and even with the help from Professor Dumbledore, who knew how serious his injuries were. When I reached the hospital wing the room was full of Gryffindors, most covered from head to toe in mud.

"What are _you_ doing here?" Ron growled when he saw me. I ignored him went over to Hermione who was still crying. She hugged me as soon as I reached her. I had a feeling that if my top hadn't already been soaking wet her tears would've made it so

"He'll be okay" I cooed and stroked her hair. Hermione nodded but didn't stop crying. We sat back as Madam Pomfrey did some medical stuff to Harry. He was still unconscious. I sat next to Hermione as she and the rest of them continued to stare at Harry. They all cared about him a lot and it probably hurt to see him like this. I had no feelings for Harry, not even those of friendship; I was just here for Hermione. She looked fragile as she stared at her unconscious best friend

I could sort of sympathize with them as I had gone through something similar with Draco. Albeit I knew he wasn't going to die from the slash given to him by Buckbeak but it still scared me to see him in the hospital bed. There was also another boy I knew when I was younger, Daniel Harris, who I had a similar experience with. I had watched him as his unconscious body slowly died in my brother's arms… It was a story I didn't like to think about...

Opposite to where Hermione and I were sitting, Ron sat looking quietly at Harry, only occasionally turning to look at us from the corner of eye. I felt like he should've been in my place, sitting next to Hermione and not so far away. Maybe they were fighting again?

"You can leave now" Ron said what he'd probably been thinking since I got there. His brothers gave him a look but I stood up. He was right

"Yeah, I think I should." They looked over at me stunned. Even the other team members, who hadn't paid any attention to me all day, looked at me surprised.

"You don't have to" George reassured me. Fred gave his younger brother another look.

"Actually I think I've left Lev alone too long. Even if he likes Daphne he still gets annoyed after a while. I hope Harry feels better" I told them as I walked to the door. I gave another hug to Hermione then headed out.

"Wait" a voice called after me. George followed me out to the corridor. "I hope you don't take it personally, Ron's just upset and –"

"And he doesn't like me" I finished for him. George looked down knowing it was the truth. "It's okay, not everyone has to like me. I'm okay with that. He didn't hurt my feelings, don't worry" I joked around. I actually liked that Ron didn't like me. It was strange but in a way I appreciated it. He didn't fake a smile just to get on my good side which was more than I could say for a lot of people

"Are you sure?" George asked not joking.

"Yeah, I'm sure" I reassured him and smiled. "Oh and thanks for giving me my scarf back. I would've hated to lose it." He cheered up by the change of topic.

"No problem" he said casually but beamed down at me

"How did you even see it through all that rain?" I asked curious. I could barely see the players from the stands

"Umm... I saw it out of the corner of my eye. It's a very bright color."

"It's a Forest Green… that's a dark colour…" I said slowly trying to understand what he was telling me. Unless he had been looking at it like I had been when it flew away it would've gotten lost with the other colours in the sky

"Yeah but it was… different. You know, not mixing in with sky. It stood out" he added quickly and smiled

"Oh… that makes sense" I mumbled thinking it through. "Well I should go back down to the dungeon. And _you_ try to get some rest" I added strictly.

"Huh? Why?" he pouted playfully

"Playing out in that weather can't be good for you and you're already looking a little flushed." I mentioned leaning into his face. His cheeks were starting to turn a little pink. It was good considering how cold it was but it could also be a sign of a fever creeping up. His eyes widened and he turned away from me.

"Yeah I'll go ask Madam Pomfrey now. See ya!" he called and ran back into the hospital wing. It was weird but then again I wasn't one to judge on weird. I decided to shrug it off and go down to my room for some rest. But first, I needed a shower.


End file.
